For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

Westside, by W.M. Akers (May 7, Harper Voyager—Hardcover)
In an alternate 1920s Manhattan in which a heavily fortified wall running along Broadway divides the island into Eastside, where the normal laws of reality still apply, and Westside, where things have gone down the magical drain, the latter has become a magical wasteland where only the dregs of society—criminals, artists, and drunks—remain. Gilda Carr calls Westide home, and works as a private investigator specializing in bite-sized mysteries like recovering lost gloves. Somehow, though, her latest case pushes her into a gangland war that connects to her own long-missing father and the reason for the Westside’s descent into unreal chaos. As much as she might like to, Carr can’t sidestep the responsibility she suddenly feels to get to the bottom of both mysteries, for her own sake and that of everyone living in the magic-ravaged city. Akers’ hugely enjoyable debut marries inventive alt-history with truly strange magic and a protagonist you won’t soon forget.

Storm Cursed, by Patricia Briggs (May 7, Ace—Hardcover)
Patricia Briggs delivers the 11th Mercy Thompson novel with the fierce energy of a promise kept—literally. When we last left her in Silence Fallen, Coyote shapeshifter Mercy pledged that she and her pack would protect the people living in their territory, thinking at the time that doing so would involve hunting the occasional zombie goat or running off some goblins. Instead she finds that her declaration has made her land a Neutral Zone where humans feel safe treating with the fae, leading to more complications than she can handle safely. As the humans and the Gray Lords of the fae jockey for position in the developing conflict, Mercy knows the safe thing to do would be to stay out of it—but she made a promise, and she and her pack are going to keep it.

Exhalation, by Ted Chiang (May 7, Knopf—Hardcover)
It’s difficult to undersell Ted Chiang’s standing in the science fiction field; long before his “Story of Your Life” was made into the Academy Award-winning blockbuster Arrival, he was lauded in genre circles for crafting stories an innovative with their science as they are heartfelt in their consideration of human emotion. Only his second collection, following 2002’s Story of Your Life and Others, Exhalation brings together seven previously published stories (several long enough to be classified as novelettes or novellas) and two new ones; each is a finely cut gem. “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” (a Hugo-winner for Best Novelette) is a standout, a complex mix of fantasy and time travel tropes that unfolds with mathematical precision, but the most powerful entry may be the title tale, which turns the fate of a strange race of mechanical beings into a powerful allegory for the crisis of climate change. Truly essential reading.

Octavia Gone, by Jack McDevitt (May 7, Saga Press—Hardcover)
The mystery at the center of the reliably entertaining eighth Alex Benedict novel centers around a space station, the Octavia, that disappeared while the scientists aboard it were studying a nearby black hole. An artifact of possibly alien origin might be the key to solving the mystery, if only far-future antiquities dealer Alex Benedict and his uncle Gabe can retrieve it for study. If that isn’t enough, Gabe, recently returned from space and a stint in a time warp, has been declared dead due to timey-wimey shenanigans, and Alex and his pilot Chase Kolpath have already made progress adjusting to life without him. They all soon learn that the question of the Octavia might hinge on a love affair gone bad—or an alien plot. The clues lead them out into space once more, and toward what might be the greatest archaeological discovery of all time.

Middlegame, by Seanan McGuire (May 7, Tor.com—Hardcover)
Seanan McGuire’s latest and longest work is also her best: a structurally complex, richly written, deeply imagined fantasy about the bonds that can unite two souls even across vast distances. One day, young Roger Middleton is struggling with his math homework when the voice of a girl named Dodger Cheswich pipes up in his head, giving him the answers. Roger and Dodger some discover that though they live on opposite coasts, they can communicate with one another, and develop a strange sort of friendship. What they don’t know is that they’re the end result of an experiment begun in the late 19th century by alchemist Asphodel Baker who dreamed of rewriting reality by embodies the forces of creation into living hosts, a plan she encoded in a series of children’s books. Her creation and eventual murderer, a man named James Reed, took up her work and engineered Roger and Dodger’s births as one half each of the Doctrine of Ethos, the force that holds existence together. As the twins mature, Reed seeks to control them and implement the final stage of Baker’s masterwork, but their connection has made them powerful, and difficult to control. With the rules of the game set, the children must awaken to their shared destiny and shape a reality that will ensure their survival, not to mention the continued existence of the universe.

Million Mile Road Trip, by Rudy Rucker (May 7, Night Shade Books—Harcover)
The legendary weird sci-fi auteur Rudy Rucker returns with his first book in five years, a suitably mind-bending, transreal novel that takes mutates a classic road-trip structure into a wacky sci-fi adventure for the ages. About to graduate high school and facing the drudgery of adult life, Zoe Snapp sets off on a roadtrip with her crush, surfer Villy Antwerpen, in his somewhat trusty ride (nicknamed the purple whale) and along the way inadvertently opens a portal to another dimension, through which aliens promptly arrive. The aliens deliver the duo to a parallel universe where Zoe and Villy discover that sentient flying saucers intend to invade their own in order to absorb humanity’s consciousness, which is their sustenance. It’s up to Zoe, who hasn’t even graduated yet, and Villy (who’s failing math) to venture across a million miles of new dimensions into order to defeat them before it’s too late. Packed with heady math and physics, written in the style of Kerouac, with plot twists aplenty and symbolism right out of Pynchon, it’s a head trip that’s even weirder than it sounds.

Theater of Spies, by S.M. Stirling (May 7, Penguin—Paperback)
The second book in Stirling’s Alternate War series finds scientist Ciara Whelan and Luz O’Malley—a leading agent of President Teddy Roosevelt’s elite spy network Black Chamber—resting after their recent efforts to foil a German terrorist plot. As World War I looms, intelligence comes in about a devastating new weapon the Germans are developing—and the Black Chamber requires they cut their recuperation short to once again serve their country. They go undercover as the world erupts into conflict, heading to Berlin and pursued by a legendary German agent called Imperial Sword, who leads a pack of stormtroopers commanded by Ernst Röhm.

The Gordian Protocol, by David Weber and Jacob Holo (May 7, Baen—Hardcover)
Weber and Holo serve up a time-twisty standalone adventure that crackles with a thriller’s energy. Professor Ben Schröder has suffered a psychotic episode that left him with a whole second set of memories of a world where the Holocaust occurred and nuclear weapons threaten mankind’s survival. He’s learned to compensate for these nightmarish visions until a man named Raibert Kaminski shows up at his door and announces himself a time traveler from an alternate reality. Kaminski drops a bombshell: a chronological disaster is threatening the existence of 15 separate realities and has given rise to a tyrant who uses time travel technology to solidify his power. As Schröder struggles with his sense of reality and sanity, Kaminski hits him with the real body blow: he, Ben Schröder, is the key to it all—and he faces a choice that puts the fate of entire realities in his hands.

Empire of Grass, by Tad Williams (May 7, DAW—Hardcover)
The solution to the mystery of the Witchwood Crown continues to elude King Simon and his queen, Miriamele in this second book of Williams’ Last King of Osten Ard series trilogy. As the kingdoms of Osten Ard descend separately into war, division, and strife, the Crown might be the key to it all—if Simon and Miriamele can solve the puzzle. Meanwhile, the Queen of the Norns has made a deal to bring her immortal armies into the mortal lands, the nomads on the grasslands are unifying with cult-like fervor, and everything begins to fall apart in ways large and small as a disparate group of people fighting for their own survival in the chaos come to represent the only hope for the survival of all living things. We’re happy to say once again that thus far, the followup to Williams’ landmark Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy is more than living up to the reputation of its forebear.

The Buying of Lot 37 &Who’s a Good Boy?, by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor (May 14, Harper Perennial—Paperback)
The newest entries in the Welcome to Night Vale series collect the scripts for episodes from seasons three and four of the megahit podcast, offering a fantastic deep dive into the creepy, funny, and super smart world of creators Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. In addition to a ton of behind-the-scenes tidbits from the writers and the cast, introductions to each story offer insight into their inspiration and production, and gorgeous illustrations from Jessica Hayworth bring each to visual life. The end result is a pair of books fans of the podcast will devour.

Mythic Journeys: Retold Myths and Legends, edited by Paula Guran (May 14, Night Shade Books—Paperback)
Award-winning editor Paula Guran’s latest anthology collects incredible adaptations and reinterpretations of myths and legends from the world over, penned by some of the best writers working in SFF today, including Neil Gaiman, Ann Lecki, Yoon Ha Lee, Ken Liu, and dozens more. These are stories that have existed for centuries—or longer—recast by modern-day masters, covering subjects like the Furies of old hunting down a serial killer for revenge, Odysseus’ nymph and her power to change lives, and a humorous look at chivalric myths and their absurdities. Spanning history and geography, culture and religion, these stories are uniquely inventive, making this a standout anthology.

A Brightness Long Ago, by Guy Gavriel Kay (May 14, Berkley—Hardcover)
Fantasy master Guy Gavriel Kay returns to the fictional setting of the Sarantine Mosiac, drawn from the history of Renaissance Italy, as an elderly man named Danio tells his life story, one curiously stocked with royalty and high adventure, considering his low birth. Danio starts off his career as an assistant to a court official, and is in a position to take notice of a young woman brought in as a concubine for the city’s despotic ruler. He correctly deduces she’s an assassin in disguise, and he chooses not to expose her; she is Adria, the daughter of a duke who has chosen to serve her mercenary uncle Folco. Danio’s decision to let the assassination occur sets in motion forces that will propel him and Adria in unexpected directions and lead to world-changing events, with low-born Danio, unpredictably, ever at their center. Kay applies his skill at painting sweeping historical tapestries to the story of the lives of the sort normally lost to the ages, yet whose choices may nevertheless shape the destiny of nations.

Children of Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (May 14, Orbit—Paperback)
The sequel to the British Science Fiction Award-winning Children of Time returns to the unlikely new cradle of humanity, a colony planet whereupon a disastrous terraforming attempt resulted in the creation of a new society of uplifted ants and spiders whose civilization evolved at breakneck speed before the desperate remnants of the a ravaged Earth could arrive. Now unlikely allies, the humans and the insects catch fragmentary signals broadcast from light years away, suggesting there might be other survivors from their shared homeworld. A mixed expedition sets out to solve the mystery, but what’s waiting for them out in space is another calamity set in motion by long-dead Earth scientists’ arrogant and desperate efforts to ensure the survival of their species. Children of Ruin managed to completely deliver on a truly absurd premise, and the sequel offers similar pleasures.

Gather the Fortunes, by Bryan Camp (May 21, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt—Hardcover)
Bryan Camp’s sequel to his lauded debut The City of Lost Fortunes focuses on Renaissance “Renai” Raines, a young woman who died in 2011 and woke up in a New Orleans both alike and different from the one she knew. In this new reality, she’s a “psychopomp,’”helping dead souls to break their mortal chains and guiding them to an afterlife populated by whimsy and demons. When a young boy is killed in a drive-by shooting, his body and soul both vanish before Renai can do her thing, and she sets off to investigate with the help of her familiar, talking raven Salvatore. Renai’s search takes her—and the reader—on a tour of a eerie alternate world, as she slowly comes to realizes that if the missing spirit should escape its fate, the consequences will be dire for the entire population of New Orleans, both the living and the dead.

Triumphant, by Jack Campbell (May 21, Penguin—Hardcover)
The third entry in Campbell’s Genesis Fleet series—a prequel to the Lost Fleet saga—finds the colony of Glenlyon in desperate straits. After coming to the aid of their sister colony, Kosatka, and helping to repel an invasion, Glenlyon is unable to resist when the invasion comes to them. They have only one ship left, the Saber, commanded by Rob Geary, but all he can do is make trouble for the invaders, even as Mele Darcy and her marines fight desperate close-quarter battles and negotiator Lochan Nakamura fights a lonely diplomatic battle to convince other colonies to risk a measure of their independence to come to Glenlyon’s aid.

An Illusion of Thieves, by Cate Glass (May 21, Tor Books—Paperback)
In the land of Costa Drago, magic is forbidden, and its is use punishable by death. Understandably, the magically gifted Romy has hidden her abilities and reinvented herself as Cataline, a courtesan to the Shadow Lord. In her role as Cataline, Romy can be intelligent, witty, and skilled with a sword, and she loves her engineered life. But when her brother Neri uses magic, putting his life in danger, Romy chooses to give it all up in order to save him. Returned to the slum of their youth, known as Lizard’s Alley, Romy and Neri must fight for survival without daring to use magic again—until Romy is informed of a nefarious plot to overthrow the lord she has come to love. To save him, she must learn to control the powers she has always feared; her resulting journey makes for a grand, romantic, fantastical adventure.

Starship Repo, by Patrick S. Tomlinson (May 21, Tor Books—Paperback)
Patrick S. Tomlinson’s new novel, following the highly amusingGate Crashers, combines the awe and discovery of a first-contact story with a bit of swashbuckling and a lot of hilarious absurdity. Despite receiving the ignominious name Firstname Lastname via clerical error, becoming one of the first humans to establish herself in the wider galaxy following humanity’s debut into galactic society should be a great honor. But living as one of the only humans on an alien space station isn’t quite the grand adventure Firstname expected, at least until she sneaks aboard a ship and finds herself joining a team of privateers that goes about “recovering” ships from the wealthiest of deadbeats all over the galaxy—in other words, a crew of interstellar repomen. Or, as some would call them, pirates. Tomlinson has crafted a space adventure with tongue planted firmly in cheek, filled with corny gags, absurd action sequences, and delightfully weird flourishes, including a living brain in a jar, a transgender member of race of crablike aliens, sentient tentacles, and an ’80s hair metal band. It’s utterly ludicrous, and that’s certainly not a bad thing.

The Red-Stained Wings, by Elizabeth Bear (May 28, Tor—Hardcover)
The sequel to The Stone in the Skull, set in Bear’s Eternal Sky universe, continues the story of the Lotus Kingdoms, remnants of the Alchemical Empire on a world where the nighttime sun offers heat but no light, and the daytime is lit up by millions of stars. As the kingdoms descend into bloody conflict, the Gage, an enormous brass automaton, travels into a blasted desert in pursuit of the mystery of the Stone in the Skull, while Anuraja, having captured princess Sayeh of Ansh-Sahal, marches on the city of Sarathai-tia, held by Sayeh’s cousin Mrithuri. Mrithuri counts on the rain-swollen river to protect the city—but when the rains inexplicably fail, Mrithuri finds herself hunting a traitor in her own ranks. Elizabeth Bear writes epic fantasy like no one else; her stories are as emotionally textured as their worldbuilding is ornate, and her prose borders on the poetic. Between this book and her mind-expanding space opera Ancestral Night, she’s having a hell of a 2019.

Five Unicorn Flush, by T.J. Berry (May 28, Angry Robot—Paperback)
The sequel to Space Unicorn Blues returns us to a universe in which magical creatures are exploited to power faster-than-light travel. As the book opens, all magical species have vanished from Reasonspace, leaving chaos in their wake, as interstellar travel and most forms of communications have collapsed as a result. Cowboy Jim and his band of soldiers, in possession of the last functioning FTL drive, and set off to locate the relocated, magical Bala in order to kickstart human civilization again. The Bala, in the meantime, aren’t keen on being enslaved again, but can’t seem to figure out how to settle their own internal conflicts either. As the unicorns quickly head towards a civil war over the question of whether they should seek revenge against the humans that oppressed them, it’s up to Captain Jenny to save her people, with a little help from the parasite in her brain. Filled with delightfully weird flourishes that temper the blow of dark emotional undercurrents, this is a worthy sequel to one of last year’s quirkiest, most rewarding space operas.

The Stiehl Assassin, by Terry Brooks (May 28, Del Rey—Hardcover)
The third book of four planned volumes that will close out Terry Brooks’ enduring Shannara series sees multiple simmering conflicts approaching to an epic boil in the wake of the Skaar invasion of the previous book. Fleeing their dying homeworld, the Skaar seek to conquer all of the Four Lands for themselves, and the foothold established by Princess Ajin is all their main forces need to begin their bloody business. But the Druid Drisker Arc has managed to free Paranor from its exile, and his protege Tarsha Kaynin is learning to control the Wishsong. But Tarsha’s brother Tavo now controls the magical Stiehl, one of the most devastating weapons known to the Four Lands. Everything comes down to locating a man with a name familiar to fans of the books—Shea Ohmsford, who we first met way back in The Sword of Shannara.

Longer, by Michael Blumlein (May 28, Tor—Paperback)
Cav and Gunjita are scientists ensconced deep in their research on the space station Gleem One, testing the effects of zero-gravity on a new drug. They’ve been married for more than 50 years, and could be married for 50 more; Gunjita recently underwent her second “juving” procedure, reverting her aged body to the prime of youth and health. The procedure can only be performed twice, giving everyone the opportunity to potentially live three lives. Cav, however, hesitates to begin his third go-round, disturbed by the implications of extending the human lifespan beyond its natural limits. When a probe returns to the station with a lump of something that could be alien life, matters both practical and existential threaten to tear the couple apart in this cerebral and deeply imagined science fiction story.

Time’s Demon, by D.B. Jackson (May 28, Angry Robot—Paperback)
The sequel to Time’s Children rejoins Tobias, a 15-year-old boy who sacrificed years of his life to go back in time to prevent a devastating war, only to find himself temporally displaced into an adult body, with his king murdered and an infant princess to protect. Joined by Mara, a fellow “Walker” from the terrible future created by his efforts to change the past, Tobias works to undo the damage and save the future. But the two are opposed in their mission by other time travelers. Meanwhile, the Tirribin demon who helped Mara journey to the past pursues a separate, tragic agenda with yet more unforeseen consequences for the battered timeline. With this duology, Jackson has accomplished something rather difficult: putting a new spin on timeworn time travel tropes.

The Gameshouse, by Claire North (May 28, Orbit—Paperback)
Claire North’s latest ingeniously conceived novel, after 84K, blends three previously published novellas into a startling original whole about the Gameshouse, a place where visitors can be a piece, a player, or even the Gamesmaster, and where any game can be played—from the simple challenges of chess to higher league games that involve real people, real empires, and real places, changing history and affecting millions. Three players come to the Gameshouse—an abused Jewish heiress from the 16th century, seeking to escape her brutish husband; a veteran player who enters into a game of world-spanning hide-and-seek with a newcomer who covets his memories and experience; and a veteran player named Silver who challenges the Gameshouse itself to a winner-take-all contest.

Lent, by Jo Walton (May 28, Tor—Hardcover)
Hugo-winner Jo Walton’s deliriously inventive new historical fantasy tells the story of Brother Girolamo, who hopes to protect the city of Florence from numerous threats in the wake of the death of its ruler, Lorenzo de’Medici. They come in forms both physical—the invading armies of France—and supernatural—a horde of demons only Girolamo can perceive. But when his efforts to save his city result in his execution for heresy, Girolamo discovers the truth: he is the demon—a Duke of Hell—and is fated to repeat the same mortal life endlessly, with no hope of changing his fate. But when he is sent back to repeat his existence again, a chance magical encounter restores his memories and true identity—giving him hope that he’ll be able to changes things this time around. The beauty of Walton’s work is that it’s compulsively readable and entertaining even if you aren’t familiar with the real history she’s pulling from.

For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

The War Within, by Stephen R. Donaldson (April 2, Berkley—Hardcover)The much longer sequel to The Seventh Decimate greatly expands this new series from the author of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. It picks up the story of former enemy nations Amike and Belleger two decades after the events of the first book, which ended with the revelation that a terrible doom was on the way, and only through unity could either nation survive. Prince Bifalt dutifully married Princess Estie of Amika, but the peace—and their marriage—has been rocky. For one thing, it remains unconsummated, as Bifalt’s conception of duty leaves no room for affection. For another, the Last Repository, the archive of lost magical knowledge that Bifalt discovered 20 years before, has been found by a terrifying enemy. With the prince isolated and indecisive, Estie has acted as the glue holding two old enemies together—but with a crisis upon them, only a true union can offer survival.

Finder, by Suzanne Palmer (April 2, DAW—Hardcover)Suzanne Palmer’s zippy space caper stars Fergus Ferguson, a sort of spacefaring repo man with a reputation for chasing down even the most dangerous cargo anywhere in space. His latest target is a heavily armed warship called Venetia’s Sword, currently in the possession of a vicious gangster named Gilger. Fergus isn’t intimidated, even if Gilger is on the brink of war with a dangerous arms dealer. Fergus traces Gilger’s ship to a small colony planet, where he promptly finds himself caught in the middle of a violent civil war. Forced to ally with the enemies of his enemy, Fergus struggles to negotiate a peace, keep tabs on his quarry—and figure out why supposedly legendary aliens—who have turned out to be disturbingly real—are following him around. This debut is a fun, fast-moving jaunt into the zippier, zanier side of space opera.

The Luminous Dead, by Caitlin Starling (April 2, Harper Voyager—Paperback)
Gyre Price is desperate. Abandoned and alone on a poverty-stricken mining planet, she wants nothing more than to learn of her mother’s fate. Seeking a big paycheck that will allow her to do just that, she fakes her credentials as a caver, assuming that the work, while dangerous, will be organized and supported by the usual safety measures. Her handler on the expedition, Em, turns out to be unpredictable, cruel, and filled with her own secrets—and Em knows that Gyre lied to get the job, and isn’t afraid to use that knowledge to force her into a dangerous, terrifying journey into the darkness. Underground, Gyre must face not only her own inner demons, but plenty of Em’s as well. By the time she begins to understand that the danger may not all be on the inside, however, it may already be too late. This is nail-biting, cinematic sci-fi survival horror.

Edges, by Linda Nagata (April 2, Mythic Island Press—Paperback)Nebula-winner Linda Nagata returns to the universe of the Nanotech Succession (The Bohr Maker, Vast) after 20 years with Edges, the first volume in a new, standalone trilogy. The humans living in the Deception Well system believe they are the last of their species, as humanity has been all but wiped out by the robotic warships of the Chenzeme and the settled systems nearer to Earth have all seem to have been destroyed. Then a man named Urban reappears, centuries after he first left the system, now in command of a captured Chenzeme warship called Dragon. He’s seeking recruits for a dangerous mission to Earth with the intent of discovering what really happened. Reversing and retracing humanity’s path to the stars will be dangerous enough, but when Dragon is invaded by an unknown force, and the humans must fight for control of the ship if they’re going to survive long enough to plumb the mystery of humanity’s downfall. Nagata is immensely skilled at crafting smartly constructed, extremely plausible far-future worlds and technology, and it’s a treat to see her exploring the frontiers of hard SF once again.

Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell, by Nathan Ballingrud (April 9, Saga Press—Paperback)Nathan Ballingrud has made a name for himself as a writer of disturbing short fiction, and his second collection proves that reputation is well deserved. Six stories—including the brand new novella The Butcher’s Table and the story The Visible Filth, which has already been adapted into the forthcoming film Wounds, explore different ideas of what it means to be a monster across varied settings and time periods. A 19th-century ship carries a crew to the borders of hell, where a terrible sacrifice is planned; in a modern-day bar in New Orleans, a lost cell phone us a portal to horrors beyond imagining. In hauntingly beautiful language, these are modern horror stories explore the darkness that is always around us, whether we’re brave enough to face it or not.

Holy Sister, by Mark Lawrence (April 9, Ace—Hardcover)The final book in Lawrence’s acclaimed Book of the Ancestor trilogy concludes the science fantasy story of Nona Grey, apprentice to a holy order of assassin nuns on the frozen planet of Albeth, where the ice is advancing and the empire is under siege. The emperor’s sister Sherzal knows Nona’s friend Zole holds the legendary shipheart—believed to be a core of one of the vessels that originally brought humanity to Albeth—and she’s determined to reclaim it. Traveling to the Convent of Sweet Mercy to complete her training, Nona is on the verge of taking the nun’s habit in her deadly order, provided an all-out war doesn’t disrupt her plans. But even fully-trained, and with the devious power of a shipheart at hand, Nona isn’t certain she’ll be able save her friends, or even herself, and turn the tide of a disastrous conflict. Struggling against the demons that seek to control her from within, Nona prepares for a final battle that will determine not just her own fate, but the fate of a world. Loaded with wild worldbuilding and dangerous women, this trilogy-ender is a satisfying treat for dark fantasy readers.

We Are Mayhem: A Black Star Renegades Novel, by Michael Moreci (April 9, St. Martin’s Press—Hardcover)The second book in Moreci’s Black Star Renegades series doesn’t give its heroes much time to bask in the victories that ended the first book. In the style of The Empire Strikes Back, destroying the Praxis ship the War Hammer, commanded by the ruthless Ga Halle, hasn’t done much to make the galaxy safer for Han Solo-esque rogue Cade Sura. He’s still in possession of the fearsome Rokura, the deadliest weapon ever designed… but he has no idea how to use it. As Kira Sen leads a small but determined rebel group into a Praxis city, hoping to strike a blow for freedom, Cade is brought by his former mentor Percival to a mythical world in a search of dangerous knowledge that could prove to be his undoing. Moreci’s second unashamed ode to his love for George Lucas’s galaxy far, far away is even more fun than the first.

Seven Blades in Black, by Sam Sykes (April 9, Orbit—Paperback)Sykes new Grave of Empires trilogy is built around Sal the Cacophony, a former mage and gunslinger hellbent on revenge against the 33 mages who tore her magic out of her. Arrested and waiting for execution for her crimes, Sal is given a chance to save herself with a confession, but the story she tells is more than just a list of crimes: she served in the Scar, a blasted wasteland caught between two vast empires, but now exists only to locate and kill the mages who betrayed and brutalized her. Sal will cross any line to complete her quest, and Sykes seems to have a similar regard for the rules of epic fantasy in this go-for-broke blend of Kill Bill and Final Fantasy.

Upon a Burning Throne, by Ashok K. Banker (April 16, John Joseph Adams Books—Hardcover)Ashok Banker is a huge bestseller in his native India, and is making his U.S. debut with this ambitious epic fantasy inspired by the Mahabharata itself. The Burnt Empire exists in a world where demigods and demons walk the earth alongside humans. After the emperor dies, the empire is thrown into chaos, as two heirs each seek to prove their worthiness by sitting on the Burning Throne, whose deep magic destroys the unworthy. Both princes—Adri and Shvate—pass the test, but yet more chaos is unleashed when a third claimant appears: the daughter of the demonlord Jarsun. When his offspring is denied her chance to prove her worthiness as well, Jarsun declares war, vowing to destroy the Burnt Empire in revenge. Adri and Shvate find themselves co-rulers of an empire roiled by sedition and stressed by invasion in this sprawling tale of conspiracies, battles, and demonic magic.

Fire Season, by Stephen Blackmoore (April 16, DAW—Paperback)Your friendly neighborhood necromancer Eric Carter returns in fine, dark form in the fourth installment of Blackmoore’s smart urban fantasy series. As the novel opens, Los Angeles is literally burning with impossible fires. During one of the hottest summers on record, someone is killing off mages with fires that never go out (and shouldn’t be able to burn in the first place. Carter is being framed for the serial killings, and he thinks he knows who’s behind it—not everyone has a vengeful Aztec god in his rear-view mirror, after all. But some parts of his theory don’t quite add up, giving Carter the sinking feeling there’s more going on than he suspects. Which is always a dangerous thing when your day-to-day dealings include magic, the undead, and angry gods.

Winds of Marque: Blackwood & Virtue, by Bennett R. Coles (April 16, Harper Voyager—Paperback)Coles launches a new series with a story of swashbuckling officers in His Imperial Majesty’s navy chasing down a nest of pirates—in space. The Big Ship Energy is real: these deep space vessels are propelled by solar sails. Second in command Liam Blackwood is still smarting from being passed over for promotion when the HMSS Daring gets a new captain, Lady Sophia Riverton, and new orders to infiltrate and destroy the pirates threatening the empire’s supply lines, even as it gears up for war with an inhuman enemy. Assisted by his petty officer and possible love interest Amelia Virtue, Blackwood is forced to act when his new his captain begins making questionable decisions and laying the grounds for a mutiny. It should go without saying that fans of Aubrey Martin and Temeraire will enjoy sailing acros the stars with the crew of the Daring.

Amnesty, by Laura Elena Donnelly (April 16, Tor Books—Paperback)
In the wake of a successful revolution, the once-glittering city of Amberlough struggles to rebuild itself in the final volume of Lara Elena Donnelly’s Nebula Award-nominated decopunk trilogy. Now that the oppressive Ospies have been removed from power, the regime that replaced them is seeking retribution from all who may have betrayed the city. This includes Cyril DePaul, who self-interestedly worked both sides of the conflict in an effort to save his own skin. His only remaining allies are a bitter ex-lover and his distant sister—and even in the wake of drastic change, Amberlough remains a dangerous, decadent place, awash in crime, deception, and—hopefully—a chance at redemption.

No Country for Old Gnomes, by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne (April 16, Del Rey—Hardcover)If the second book in Dawson and Hearne’s gleefully parodic Tales of Pell series is not the surprise that Kill the Farm Boy was, it is every bit as delightful. As the tidy, cheerful gnomes prepare for war against the well-armed, voracious Halflings, one gnome finds his life upended by a Halfling bomb. Offi Numminen stands apart from others of his kind, incrementally less cheerful, and favoring cardigans with a distinctly goth appeal, but he goes from outcast to last hope when he finds himself the leader of a band of misfits headed off on a journey to the Toot Towers to set the world right again. The quest won’t be easy, but it certainly won’t be harder than pulling his band of malcontents together and making them work as a team. Once again, Dawson and Hearne balance their whimsical, affectionate ribbing of fantasy conventions with a deep love for the genre and the tropes they’re subverting.

Perihelion Summer, by Greg Egan (April 16, Tor.com Publishing—Paperback)When twin black holes enter our solar system and knock Earth’s orbit out of whack, Matt Fleming reacts by creating the Mandjet, a floating, self-sustaining environment designed to withstand the climatic disaster that ensues. Struggling against government incompetence and his own family’s reluctance to admit what’s happening even as the summers turn brutally hot and crops fail worldwide, Fleming and the others on the Mandjet chronicle the collapse of civilization and the new reality of a world where all of the rules of nature and survival have been rewritten. With the scientific rigor that is Egan’s forte, this chilling what-if scenario serves as both a thrilling apocalyptic tale and a dire warning about the costs of inaction in the face of looming catastrophe.

Master & Apprentice (Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition), by Claudia Gray (April 16, Del Rey—Hardcover)Claudia Gray returns to the Star Wars galaxy with a real treat for fans who might feel forgotten in the era of Rey, Kylo Ren, and Finn: an all-new adventure featuring Obi Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn. The story opens with the pair at a crossroads: Qui-Gon struggles with worry that he has failed his Padawan, as Obi-Wan frets at Qui-Gon’s consideration of an invitation to join the Jedi Council—thus ending their partnership. In the midst of this doubled-edged doubt, the Jedi are called to a distant planet to assist with a political dispute that quickly spirals into danger. As Qui-Gon experiences visions of disaster, Obi-Wan’s begins to suspect he can no longer trust his Master. The Barnes and Noble Exclusive edition includes a double-sided pull-out poster.

Atlas Alone, by Emma Newman (April 16, Ace—Paperback)Emma Newman’s fourth book set in the Planetfall universe is another inventive and emotionally wrenching affair. As a passenger onboard the spacefaring vessel Atlas 2, Dee was one of the few who witnessed the nuclear strike that killed millions on Earth. Angry and deeply traumatized, Dee seeks both to uncover who was responsible and to escape her suffering within an immersive game that applies real world physicality to a virtual setting. Invited to test a new build of the game by a mysterious guide, Dee enters a play session unlike any she’s ever experienced. When she kills another player in-game and a man winds up dead in real life—a man with possible ties to the nuclear launch, no less—Dee becomes a suspect. As she doubles down on her investigation, she makes a chilling discovery that changes everything she thought she knew about her life—and the colony planet she’s headed toward. Made up of standalone novels that share a setting and a commitment to delving into their characters’ psyches, the Planetfall series stands with the best science fiction of the last decade.

The Master of Dreams, by Mike Resnick (April 16, DAW—Hardcover)Genre veteran Mike Resnick delivers the first book in a new trilogy that doubles as a romp through all your favorite stories. A man named Eddie Raven and his girlfriend Lisa wander into a fortune-teller’s shop in New York, and into a violent shooting that leaves Lisa injured. Eddie hears a mysterious voice that orders him to run. He does, and soon finds himself the owner of an all-too-familiar bar in Casablanca—except this one is populated not by Nazis and ne’er do wells, but by monsters. Sooner than he can figure out what’s going on, he’s following a yellow brick road and helping a young Kansan girl find a wizard; then he’s in Camelot with someone named Arthur. As Eddie reels and struggles to adapt to his shifting reality, he must figure out why the Master of Dreams is chasing him through twisted versions of famous stories, and find Lisa before it’s too late.

All My Colors, by David Quantick (April 16, Titan Books—Paperback)This twisting puzzle of a book stars Todd Milstead, a failed writer who could be generously described as a jerk. Todd’s got a great party trick, though; an eidetic memory that allows him to quote chapter and verse from texts he read decades earlier. The ability leads to a mysterious discovery when, at a dinner party, he recites extensive quotes from a bestselling book only he seems to remember—as far as everyone else (from his wife to his local bookseller), the titular All My Colors. was never published. With his marriage and finances in turmoil, desperate Todd hatches a plan, retypes the the novel from memory, and sees it become a massive hit. Even after all his success, though, Todd is still the same man. He’s obsessed with his now ex-wife, and hires a private investigator stalk her and her new boyfriend—a guy who oddly doesn’t seem to appear in photographs. Things only get stranger from there, as Todd discovers there are consequences to his act of “victimless” forgery.

The Unicorn Anthology, edited by Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weisman (April 19, Tachyon—Paperback)Who better to edit an anthology of unicorn-themed stories and poems than SFF Grandmaster Peter S. Beagle, whose novel The Last Unicorn may be the definitive unicorn story?Following up their World Fantasy Award-winning collection The New Voices of Fantasy, Beagle and co-editor Jacob Weisman bring together 15 tales offering unique and unexpected twists on the unicorn myth. The contributors include heavy-hitters in the world of SFF fiction: Caitlin R. Kiernan, Jane Yolen, Garth Nix, Carrier Vaughn, and Beagle himself, just to name a few. Their stories run the gamut from the gentle, to the horrific, to the surprisingly gritty and realistic.

A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World, by C. A. Fletcher (April 23, Orbit—Hardcover)After the Gelding, an event that rendered most of Earth’s population sterile, society has crumbled. On an island off the coast of Scotland, a boy named Griz lives with his family and his dogs Jess and Jip, and rarely sees any signs of other humans. When a stranger with long red hair arrives one day offering trade, the family is uneasy, but allows him ashore—but the interloper rewards their kindness by drugging them, stealing all of their supplies, and dognapping Jess. With no law or government left to appeal to, Griz doesn’t hesitate to act, grabbing Jip and setting off in pursuit of his beloved dog. His journey takes him on a nightmarish tour of a world that has been hollowed out and is falling apart—and which also isn’t quite as empty as Griz imagined. This is post-apocalyptic sci-fi with heart, and a few very good doggos.

Ragged Alice, by Gareth L. Powell (April 23, Tor.com Publishing—Paperback)Detective Chief Inspector Holly Craig grew up in the small Welsh town of Pontyrhudd haunted by her mother’s murder and memories of a terrifying creature she called Ragged Alice. As soon as she could, Holly left that place, hoping to harness her ability to literally see evil in people by becoming a police officer. When her latest case goes terribly sideways, she asks for a transfer back to her home town, where she works a simple case of hit and run that quickly spirals into something much more terrible: the main suspect turns up dead, mutilated in exactly the same way as Holly’s mother, three decades before. As she delves into the dark threads running through the town, Holly must face her worst fears and the secrets of her peculiar talents. Powell has wowed readers with his science fiction; with this paranormal procedural, he proves himself just as adept at creeping them out.

Ravnica: War of the Spark, by Greg Weisman (April 23, Del Rey—Hardcover)The first novel set in the Magic: The Gathering universe to be released in years tells the story of Teyo Verada, a young man training as a shieldmage to protect his world from devastating diamondstorms. When the first real test of his abilities goes horribly awry, he’d buried alive. The incident should’ve killed him; instead, he finds himself transported to Ravnica, a city that spans an entire world. It seems Verada is a planeswalker, and has been called to the city by the Elder Dragon, Nicol Bolas. Bolas seeks godhood by taking Ravnica, and his power and army is opposed only by the planeswalkers who have gathered together to defend the city, recruiting mages like Verada from around the multiverse. Fans of the vast universe of the collectible card game will find much to love in the lore and adventure of this canonical tie-in novel.

Emily Eternal, by M. G. Wheaton (April 23, Grand Central Publishing—Hardcover)As the sun shows signs of turning into a red giant and destroying the world about five billion years sooner than scientists predicted, humanity seems doomed. But Emily, an artificial intelligence programmed for morality and social interaction, thinks it has a way for us to endure, after a fashion: by downloading every humans’ memories into its own databanks and launching itself into space. After Emily’s servers are destroyed by a mysterious group opposed to this form of digital salvation, it survives by downloading itself onto a chip implanted in the head of a Ph.D. student named Jason Hatta. Pursued by enemies hellbent on eliminating Emily, including a rival AI called Emily-2, Jason and his AI passenger soon learn what it means to be human—and more than human—as they race to evade capture and put Emily’s plan into action after all.

Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler (April 30, Grand Central Publishing—Paperback)This gorgeous reissue of Octavia Butler’s prescient near-future novel includes an incisive foreword by N.K. Jemisin. It’s more relevant today than when it was first published. Climate change is often framed not only in environmental terms, but economic ones: many foresee a world in which the rich, always getting richer, are the only ones able to afford the scarce resources that will be left after nature turns fully against humanity. Butler’s novel starts there, with the last elite remnants of the human race living in walled communities that protect them from the aggressive hordes of homeless, jobless, and nearly hopeless people suffering from the effects of ecological collapse. When her home in one of these fortresslike neighborhoods is attacked and looted, a young girl named Lauren flees, seeking safety and plagued by a mysterious ailment that forces her to feel others’ pain as if it were her own. Ultimately, this is a tale of hope—and considering how much less speculative this classic seems every day, a little extra hope might just be what you need to help you fall asleep tonight.

The Unbound Empire, by Melissa Caruso (April 30, Orbit—Paperback)The third and final book in Caruso’s engaging Sword and Fire trilogy finds the deep snows of winter slowing the Witch-Lord Ruven’s advance on the city of Raverra, where Lady Amalia Cornaro and the fire warlock Zaira—whose magic is tethered to Amalia—are working desperately to free mages who can help them defeat Ruven. Their first goal is opposed by the Raverran Empire’s ruling class, who want to maintain their control over all magic; the second is threatened by Ruven latest devastating attack. Desperate, Amalia trades secrets and makes alliances to gather information that will aide both her causes. It’s all leading toward a final confrontation that might require Zaira to use her own magical abilities in ways she’s never before imagined.

Waste Tide, by Chen Qiufan (April 30, Tor Books—Hardcover)
“Translated by Ken Liu” is a servicable marketing slogan this days; certainly the phrase adorns the covers of some of the best Chinese science fiction arriving in America in recent years. Quifan’s story follows a woman named Mimi, and inhabitant of Silicon Isle, where the world’s toxic electronic trash is piling up. She’s one of thousands of poor migrant workers who came to the Isle looking for good wages in exchange for hard work, only to find themselves in an economic trap; Silicon Isle is ruled by three rich clans who regard Mimi and her fellow workers as subhuman. Mimi’s rough circumstances grow worse when she’s blamed for the illness of a powerful clan leader’s son. It’s a final straw that, rather than breaking Mimi, propels her to the forefront of a growing workers’ rebellion—even as greater forces seek to make her kind unnecessary altogether by automating the recycling processes. Smart, relevant,and propulsive: this is what sci-fi was made for.

For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

It’s always exciting when a bona-fide scientist writes a novel, and Sagan—who remains as beloved today as he was in 1985—sure wrote a doozy, and now it has been reissued in a handsome new trade paperback edition. Contact began as a screenplay Sagan co-wrote with his future wife; when plans for the film fell apart (though of course a film did eventually hit theaters), he reworked the script into a novel. The revision process resulted in a substantial story that has nonetheless been stripped of all the fat, left sharp and efficient. It’s a tale of alien first contact, math, the battle between faith and science, and mind-blowing interstellar experiences—a perfect balance of hard SF and thrilling adventure, all of it wrapped up in a book that netted the author a once record-setting $2 million advance.

Ann Bishop returns to the World of the Other with this standalone followup to Lake Silence. Jana Paniccia is hired on as deputy to a Wolfgard sheriff in Bennett, a ghost town in which all the humans were killed in retaliation for a strike against the terra indigene. Bennett is being resettled as a place where both humans and Others will co-exist. As stores are reopened and a functioning government is established, the activity attracts the attention of the Blackstone Clan, a group of outlaw humans who seek only profit for themselves. Unfortunately, that means the resolve and bonds of friendship in Bennett will be tested much sooner than anyone expected. Bishop’s Others marks a high point in the urban fantasy genre, and this sequence of self-contained followups is a brilliant way of allowing readers to spend more time in that world without diluting the ending of the original series.

This expanded version of Shoemaker’s short story ‛Today I Am Paul” (a 2015 Nebula nominee) tells the story of an android named Carey, and its years of varying interactions with the Owens family. Brought in to care for the elderly Mildred, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, Carey unexpectedly attains sentience—the first android to do so. When Mildred dies, Carey stays on with the Owens’, caring for the young Millie. As Carey bonds with Millie, it struggles with the passage of time, and the way the Owens’ change, evolve, and die. Carey doesn’t age, but it also changes and evolves as its experiences alter the very core of its being. This is a moving, richly-detailed story of an intelligence coming into an understanding of itself.

Jenna Glass’s debut is the first in a planned series set in a world in which women are treated as inconvenient necessities. The “disgraced” women of the Kingdom of Aaltah are sent away to the Abbey of the Unwanted, led by Abbess Alysoon Rai-Brynna. The women of the Abbey survive by selling both magical potions and themselves. Their bitter existence swells into a resistance led by Rai-Brynna—a mother, a widow, and the shunned daughter of a king. Rai-Brynna leads a ritual that shifts the balance of power in the world, granting women the ability to prevent unwanted pregnancies—and to protect themselves from rape with violent magic. As the male population of Aaltah boils over in angry retaliation, Alysoon explores the limits of this new magic, as the personal and political plots intertwine in subtle ways, and society reacts to the new world order. It’s a compelling fantasy epic for the #MeToo era.

After a decade spent exploring worlds of fantasy and steampunk, Elizabeth Bear launches a new series with a seriously epic space opera flavor. Halmey Dz is an engineer on a slightly sketchy salvage ship, part of a crew that stays just clear of the law in their quest to eke out a living. While exploring a derelict ship, Halmey is infected by something alien, and finds she has a whole new lever of perception that grants her understanding of the fundamental structure of the universe—which makes her an incredibly valuable prize for those with the will to exploit her abilities. Halmey is pursued by the government and a group of ruthless pirates, all of whom want to control her and her new power. She and her crewmates make a run for it—but the pursuit leads them into an even bigger mystery involving an alien ship trapped in a black hole at the center of the galaxy. And that’s just the beginning. The first book in the White Space saga may be Bear’s best science fiction novel yet, and that’s certainly saying something.

The follow-up to last year’s Markswoman returns to a post-apocalyptic Asia (known in-world as Asiana) whose history has been totally rewritten—and its population vastly reduced—by a terrible war. Justice in Asiana is brutal, with judicial executions carried out by an order of specially trained female assassins who have psychic powers that link them to their daggers (the explanation for this and other elements of the worldbuilding threatens to push the quasi-fantasy series into outright sci-fi). In the wake of the events of the first novel, Markswoman Kyra Veer is the only survivor of the Order of Kali following a brutal massacre carried out by the rebel Kai Tau and his army of followers, who wield telepathically controlled firearms. Seeking revenge, Kyra forges alliances where she can, including with a man named Rustan, from a counterpart Order of male assassins, who is still recovering from his shame at having killed an innocent. Together, they will delve into the secrets of the ancient alien technology that has shaped their world as they try to defeat Kai Tau and chart a course toward a better future.

Maughan offers a biting vision of the future after in the wake of a techno-apocalypse, unfolding both sides of a story set before and after the fall. Before: hacker and activist Rushdi Manaan establishes the Croft, an island voluntarily cut off from the internet and the corporate surveillance culture. Populated by a group of artists and rebels, The Core is soon falling apart due to internal strife—but then a group of terrorists unleash an attack that destroys the internet and every device connected to it. After: the world economy has collapsed, and the Croft has morphed into the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft, where a girl named Mary sees visions of ghosts and others trade the ancient remnants of analog pre-Internet tech to survive. When a newcomer named Anika arrives bearing secrets the crash, the puzzle of what happened to the world—and why—begins to come into focus. As he explores the contrast between the mad, cyberpunk decadence of Before and the desolate wasteland of After, Maughan will change the way you look at the modern world—and the future we’re rushing into.

This literary fantasy from comics writer and novelist G. Willow Wilson (Ms. Marvel, Alif the Unseen) is a fast-paced adventure set in Granad, the last emirate of Muslim Spain. Fatima is the sultan’s favorite concubine, but her only true friend is Hassan, the royal mapmaker, who possesses the ability to open portals to other rooms, and even other worlds, at will. When Fatima accidentally reveals Hassan’s power to Luz, a lay sister working for the Inquisition, they flee, accompanied by a rogue’s gallery of companions and allies, including a vampire-jinn in the form of a dog and his sister, who takes the form of a cat. Inspired by a bit of verse they’ve known since childhood, Fatima and Hassan seek the island of Qaf, where the legendary Bird King resides, and where they believe they might be safe from the intolerant Inquisition. Wilson’s imagination overflows from each page as she crafts a fantasy quite unlike any other you’ll encounter this year.

This collector’s edition of the second novel in V.E. Schwab’s smashing Shades of Magic series sits nicely beside last year’s spiffy reissue of A Darker Shade of Magic. Featuring a new short story, a gorgeous metallic cover, fan art, and an updated glossary, it’s a must for the Schwab superfan. This sequel goes deeper into the parallel universe of multiple Londons—shying away from Georgian Grey London, and more firmly into Red London, home of the Arnesian Empire, Prince Rhy Maresh, and Kell, the last of the Travelers, whose blood magic allows for journeys between the the parallel cities. Four months after the downfall of White London, the brothers are still reeling their losses, and trying to plan a cross-empire magical tournament to prove the might of the Maresh Throne in the face of turmoil. Meanwhile, ex-Grey London thief Lilah Bard has taken to the high seas and the pirate’s life she always dreamed of—only to discover her particular set of skills might best be put to use in a more magical arena.

When V.E. Schwab published The Near Witch in 2011, the YA world wasn’t yet ready for her particular blend of dark fantasy and richly passionate characters, and the book slipped quietly out of print. Now, we’re ready for it to come roaring back. It’s set in the town of Near, a severe place guided by a few simple rules: the legendary Near Witch is just a nearly forgotten fairy tale, children must never listen to the wind at night when it begs for company, and there are no strangers in Near. One night, a strong-minded girl named Lexi sees a strange boy outside her house—a boy who fades away like mist— just as children begin disappearing from their beds. The strange boy, who Lexi dubs Cole, is the obvious suspect, but she finds herself listening not to the town’s stern leaders. but to the wind, which seems to be telling her to trust him—and to fear instead the dark legacy of the Near Witch, who might not be so forgotten after all. The B&N exclusive edition includes a variant cover, a unique map of Near, and a prequel short story, “The Ash-Born Boy,” which dives into the tragic backstory of Near’s mysterious visitor.

Stout’s debut combines the cynical tone and twisting mystery of noir detective fiction with a vivid, fantastical setting—the titular Titanshade, a city built over an imprisoned demigod whose endless suffering provides heat in the midst of a frozen wasteland. With the magical substance called manna growing scarce, Titanshade has enjoyed a sudden industrial revolution fueled by oil—but as the oil wells are now also drying up, corrupt forces scramble to protect their investments, by any means necessary. Enter detective Carter and his less-than-stellar reputation. He’s assigned to investigate the messy murder of a diplomat from the frog-like race known as the Squibs, as greed, politics, and prejudice collide in an inventive Chinatown-meets-urban fantasy mashup.

A generation ship filled with Quakers flees a collapsing Earth in this reissue of Molly Gloss’s acclaimed 1997 sci-fi novel, a Locus Award nominee and a New York Times Notable Book upon its initial release. As the novel opens, the ship’s crew of Friends, drawn from all over the world, is finally arriving at a potential new home planet after a 140-year journey by solar sail. The years have taken a toll, and suicide has become a near-epidemic, and their destination, dubbed New World, is hardly inspiring: it’s cold and treacherous, and immediately claims two lives and leaves a third changed in disturbing ways. The crew is divided between making a go of it on a harsh planet and pushing on in hopes of finding someplace better, but the matter becomes academic as they find themselves in the grip of a new disease, possibly brought back from New World in the wake of that disastrous first mission. Gloss delves into the physical and psychological toll of diaspora and finds a deep humanity in a story of a journey into the unknown.This is the third of Gloss’s long-neglected works now back in print thanks to Saga Press; later this year there follows Unforeseen, her first collection of short fiction.

Cho’s long-awaited sequel to Sorcerer to the Crown offers a delightful twist on the naif-studies-magic premise, as sisters Muna and Sakti wake up on a deserted beach on the island of Janda Baik without any memory. They know they are sisters, but everything else is gone, taken from them by an enchantment. Worse, Sakti begins to slowly fade away, disappearing bit by bit. Their only hope is for Muna to travel to Britain and somehow gain entrance to the Sorceress Royal’s academy of magic—a task that will require her to pretend to be a prodigy while navigating the dangerous tides of British society and politics. Muna begins to learn the secrets of their past as she works towards a solution and becomes embroiled in plots that threaten to unravel her carefully-woven illusion—and with them, all hope for Sakti.

The second book in the Wormwood trilogy opens with deceptive calm as the city of Rosewater continues to apparently thrive alongside the alien entity known as Wormwood. The Homians plan to replace humanity by bioengineering the world around them, but those who know the nature of their plan keep it secret, triggering a quiet cold war between humanity and the aliens’ soft invasion. Yet as Rosewater’s mayor struggles to assert his city’s new independence, a much more heated conflict seems inevitable. As both sides maneuver for position, Aminat, an agent for the government, is ordered to find a woman who holds the key to the survival of the entire human race. Non-linear, challenging, and beautifully told, this novel represents the chilling, gorgeous future of 21st-century sci-fi.

Dalglish launches a new series set in a world where religion has declared monsters—zombies, spider-wolves, and worse—to be nothing but myth. Devin Eveson is a Soulkeeper, traveling from village to village to preach the scripture and heal the afflicted. But then the black water comes, washing over the world and bringing with it death, destruction—and the return of those mythic monsters, giving the lie to the scripture Devin has devoted his life to spreading. These reemergent creatures are furious that humankind has forgotten them and their creators, known as the five dragons, and the whole world soon erupts into madness and terror. When Soulkeepers start turning up dead, transformed into horrifying sculptures, Devin realizes he must stray from his peaceful path and learn to how to be a monster slayer.

This rich epic fantasy debut is inspired by the mythologies of Egypt and the cultures of sub-Saharan Africa. Nineteen-year old Amastan Basbowen has spent most of his life training in the family business of assassination in order to help defend his home city of Ghadid. When his vocation is outlawed, however, he must contemplate a return to the more staid career of historian. His family is targeted by the corrupt Drum Chiefs who run the city, framed for a series of assassinations where the bodies were hidden away, leaving the tortured souls of the murdered to remain as jaani, unquiet spirits who risk eventually devolving into violent, demonic shades. Amastan must work to clear his family’s name and save the city before an army of restless spirits destroys everything.

Durst latest novel to take place in the world of Renthia, the setting for The Queen of Blood and its sequels, is a standalone spinoff that tells the story of the people of the islands of Belene, who face a difficult and uncertain existence thanks to the evil water spirits makes that threaten their homeland. On the eve of her wedding, oyster-diver Mayara averts disaster when, after the spirits send a storm against the islanders, she reveals she has the power to control them. She is arrested as a witch and sent to an island filled with other outcast women—and a horde of hungry spirits. The women must compete against one another using only their magic and their wits, with the last ones standing designated heirs to the queen—but mere survival may cost them everything.

Reynolds combines cli-fi and time-travel with a brilliantly twisty story that begins at the tail end of the 21st century. A group of desperate scientists gather at the Arctic Circle to implement a dangerous experiment they believe is the final chance to avert climate disaster. They intend to reach back in time and make a small change—something so tiny that recorded history will remain intact, but so vital, it will change the fate of the planet. They require one person to make it work: a schoolteacher whose mother was the greatest mind in the field of paradox. Five decades earlier, a woman undergoes brain surgery and wakes up with not just a voice but a sentient will in her head—a will that seems to serve a purpose all its own.

When Shawn Speakman was facing cancer and without medical insurance a few years ago, he asked writers to donate stories to the first volume of Unfettered to help him pay his medical bills. Subsequent entries in what has become an impressive anthology series pay it forward, with proceeds donated to allay the medical debts of other writers. Considering the lineup of talent, this may be the easiest donation you make this month. It includes stories by Delilah S. Dawson, Lev Grossman, Seanan McGuire, Carrie Vaughn, and Tad Williams, but the biggest draw for many will be the new story in The Wheel of Time universe, co-written by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.

Anyone who pays attentions to the ballots for various high-profile science fiction and fantasy awards will recognize the name Sarah Pinsker; her stories have recently been nominated for (or won) the Nebula, Theodore Sturgeon, and Hugo awards, among others. Naturally, then, the publication of her first collection is something of an event, particularly coming as it does from Small Beer Press, which has provided a home for some of the best emerging authors to hit the genre scene in recent years (among them Andy Duncan, Abbey Mei Otis, and Sofia Samatar). The 13 stories collected here vary in length, from the almost-micro-fiction of “The Sewell Home for the Temporarily Displaced,” to the novella-length And Then There Were (n-1), a nominee for both the Hugo and Nebula last year that posits what might happen if an author (Sarah Pinsker) attended a convention for her alternate selves from alternate dimensions, and then one of them started murdering the others. The collection is worth the cover price for that story alone, to be honest; that there are a dozen others, including the moving “In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind,” which deals with a woman’s grief at the loss she feels after her husband’s stroke leaves him unable to talk (also a Nebula finalist), is frankly more than we deserve.

Martine’s ornate debut space opera constructs a fully realized world. The new ambassador from a small mining Station, Mahit Dzmare, arrives at the court of the ever-expanding Teixcalaanli Empire to find that the previous ambassador is dead. Very likely, she was murdered—though no one will admit that, or the fact that Dzmare is the next most likely victim. Aided by her expertise in the Teixcalaani language and an outdated—and possibly untrustworthy—memory implant from the prior ambassador, Dzmare must negotiate both her own survival and that of the Station in the face of an implacable empire. Meanwhile, the aging emperor seeks to become immortal by any means science can grant him, even as his army plots a coup. In the tradition of Ann Leckie and Iain M. Banks, this is bold, complex space opera with a political bent.

The eighth book in The Expanse book arrives just as excitement over the continuing television adaptation of the series reaches a fever pitch. As this penultimate entry opens, human space is controlled by the Laconian empire and Winston Duarte, who seeks to make evolution happen on his timeline using the same alien technology that operates in the ring gates humans use to travel between thousands of livable worlds. The survivors of the gunship Rocinante work with the growing rebellion to throw off Duarte’s control. Their best hope might just be Duarte’s own daughter, who doesn’t relish the idea of being part of her father’s ultimate science experiments. Fast-paced, smartly plotted, and nuanced—this is one of the best SF series of the decade.

Reinterpreting the Bard through a queer prism, Katharine Duckett’s rich debut novella provides a more complete journey for Miranda from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Arriving in a Milan falling under the control of her father, Miranda is more or less imprisoned in his castle. The servants hate her, and when she is allowed outside—accompanied always by her Agata—she is veiled. A miserable life is lightened when she meets Dorothea, a maid of the castle, who shows Miranda a series of secret tunnels—and much more. The two forge close relationship as Miranda discovers the existence of magic both occult and physical.

]]>https://www.tor.com/2019/03/01/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-march-2019/feed/2Barnes & Noble Bookseller’s Picks for Februaryhttps://www.tor.com/2019/02/01/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-february-2019/
https://www.tor.com/2019/02/01/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-february-2019/#respondFri, 01 Feb 2019 20:00:33 +0000https://www.tor.com/?p=430129For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books. A People’s Future of the United States: Speculative Fiction from […]]]>

For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

Twenty-five stories examining America’s many possible futures, written by some of the best and brightest in sci-fi and fantasy? Sign us up. Overseen by award-winning author Victor LaValle (The Ballad of Black Tom) and editor John Joseph Adams, and featuring contributions from N.K. Jemisin, Justina Ireland, A. Merc Rustad, Omar El Akkad, Charlie Jane Anders, Charles Yu, Lesley Nneka Arimah, and 18 others, this collection is packed with stories that extrapolate the realities our fraught present into fascinating, often dark visions of the future. From Americas where contraception is illegal, to ones in which the non-conforming are forcibly transformed to fit a biased “norm,” to more fantastical visions in which women learn to ride dragons. In one timely entry, a wall on the Mexican-American border results in a slew of unintentional consequences to Mexico’s benefit. These are tales that illustrate the power of speculative fiction—to combine imagination, storytelling, and social commentary in ways that tell us as much about where we’re going as where we are right now.

Netflix’s Stranger Things is a bona fide pop culture phenomenon, and YA regular Gwenda Bond earned the enviable task of bringing the ever-growing, ever-darker universe of the TV series to print. This prequel delves into the mysterious history of the woman who gave birth to waffle-loving telekinetic tween Eleven. The story travels back to 1969, when Terry Ives is a quiet college student who signs up for a government program code-named MKULTRA. As her involvement with this sinister experiment at the Hawking National Laboratory grows ever stranger, Terry begins investigating what’s really going on, recruiting her fellow test subjects for assistance—including a mysterious young girl with even more mysterious powers. A girl who doesn’t have a name, just a number: 008. This is a must for die-hard fans eager to explore all the secrets that won’t be revealed onscreen. The exclusive Barnes & Noble edition includes a two-sided poster featuring original artwork.

The second entry in Correia’s Saga of the Forgotten Warrior series returns to the story of Ashok Vadal, a former soldier in a fiercely secular, fiercely divided magical world. In a society stratified into castes, the lowest of the low are the casteless—the untouchables. After infiltrating a rebel group that sought to free the casteless—a mission that led him to the prophet Thera Vane—former Protector Ashok Vadal now wields his magical blade Angruvadal and leads the Sons of the Black Sword on a mission to free Thera from the wizard Sikasso. All the while, he is hunted by the vengeful Lord Protector Devedas. As Ashok deals with the revelation that he is casteless himself—and apparently a pawn in a game he doesn’t yet fully grasp—he finds himself forced to fight without Angruvadal for the first time, and questioning whether his fate really has fallen to the gods. With this series, Correia brings all of the grit and narrative propulsion of his popular Monster Hunter urban fantasy series into the realm of the epic.

Saga Press continues its campaign to bring Molly Gloss back into prominence with the SFF crowd, reissuing her fourth novel, the winner of the James Tiptree Jr. Award (presented to a work that explores or expands notions of gender). It is presented as the unedited journal of Charlotte Bridger Drummond, a woman living in Washington State in the early 20th century, doing her best to get by with her five children after her husband abandoned her. Drummond supports herself by writing novels about fierce and attractive girls who go on adventures. When her housekeeper Melba’s daughter goes missing in the wilds, Charlotte decides to follow her characters’ lead and heads out to find her. Soon lost herself, Charlotte uses her journal to keep a record of her increasingly strange journey into an American wilderness far odder than she ever dreamed. In a metafictional touch, this narrative is interspersed with snippets of her fiction and her musings on the constrictions her gender places upon her. Because this is ostensibly a fantasy novel, we should also note that Charlotte’s journal purports that she survived her ordeal in part by joining up with a group of giants living in the mountains. Though the fantastical elements are presented with a shade of ambiguity, Charlotte inarguably proves herself more than able to fill a role that in 1905 (and, perhaps, 2019) would normally fall to a strapping male protagonist.

The city of Athanor was set adrift long ago by alchemists called the Curious Men, moving through space and time and taking with it bits and pieces of every place it passes through along the way. Isten and her followers were one of among those bits and pieces, pulled into Athanor unwittingly. They are now stranded in the incredibly varied but dismally impoverished magical city. Isten’s people believe she is prophesied to set their homeland free, but Isten has succumbed to a terrible addiction, and she and her followers barely survive in the mean alleys of Athanor—until Isten meets Alzen, a member of the Elect. Alzen dreams of becoming the Ingenious, a master magic-user, and Alzen and Isten forge an unusual alliance, each determined to help the other fulfill their disparate disparate dreams in this impossible city. Darius Hinks is an award-winning writer of novels set in the Warhammer universe; The Ingenious is his first wholly original work, in every sense.

The first book in an epic fantasy trilogy from Booker Prize-winner Marlon James is as impressive as the author’s pedigree would suggest. The Dark Star trilogy has been likened to an “African Game of Thrones,” and the comparison is both apt and overly simplistic—James is doing far more than gluing familiar tropes onto African folklore. This is a deeply literary work, bordering at times on the poetic in its imagery, but it is also enormously fun, with imaginative worldbuilding and a plot that is both measured and propulsive. The Black Leopard is a mercenary able to shape-shift into a jungle cat, and the Red Wolf, also called Tracker, is a hunter of lost folk, with an incredible sense of smell that enables him to hone in on his quarry from vast distances. Sometimes with Leopard and sometimes alone, Tracker works his way across Africa in search of a kidnapped boy, moving through a beautiful, densely detailed world of violence, storytelling, dark magic, giants, and inhuman entities. Tracker’s mission is complicated by the complex and ever-shifting politics of the many tribes he encounters, and furthered along by a growing entourage of followers and allies, from a giant, to a sword-wielding academic, to a buffalo that understands (and sometimes obeys) human speech. It already feels like a classic, and it will be interesting to see how the fantasy connects with James’s literary audience, and vice versa.

Jenn Lyons opens her planned five-book series with novel that defies traditional narrative structure. It begins as a conversation between the imprisoned Kihrin, awaiting what will certainly be a sentence of death, and his jailor Talon, a beautiful, demonic, shape-shifting assassin. As Kihrin tells a sad tale of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and earning the enmity of a cabal of sorcerers (raising more than a few questions about his real identity, and the true nature of a consequential necklace he claims was given to him by his mother)—Talon shares her own side of the story. The twin narratives slowly curl around each other (enriched by asides and often cheeky footnotes), illuminating different aspects of a world populated by incredible magic and a whole host of fantastic monsters and all manner of gods, demons, and men, all seemingly arrayed against Kihrin’s twisting journey to claim his legacy. The buzz for this series-starter has been building for months, and while the comparisons to APatrick Rothfuss and George R.R. Martin are apt, Jenn Lyons has also proven to have her own fascinating perspective on epic fantasy. A must-read.

Jessie Mihalik’s first novel is a space opera with a healthy helping of sex and romance, telling the story of Ada von Hasenberg, fifth daughter of the influential House von Hasenberg. Two years ago, Ada fled an arranged marriage to Richard Rockhurst and has been racing to stay one step ahead of her father’s minions ever since. Luckily, she’s been the beneficiary of the standard von Hasenberg education, which ran the gamut from computer hacking to social engineering. When Ada is captured by bounty hunters, she makes an alliance with another prisoner, the notorious criminal and murderer Marcus Loch, possibly the most dangerous man in the universe. Together, the pair must break free from their captors and launch a desperate campaign to earn their freedom once and for all. Along the way, they’ll also need to learn to trust each other, and resist the undeniable attraction that has arisen between them. Fast, fun, and sexy, this debut offers a delightful escape into adventure.

Scotto Moore—the mind behind the darkly, strangely hilarious Lovecraftian Things That Cannot Save You Tumblr and the music blog Much Preferred Customers—writes a short, sharp debut novella that brings together both of his obsessions. It’s the story of a blogger who stumbles across most beautiful music he’s ever heard in his life—a song that mesmerizes him for hours, as if possessed of an arcane power. The band responsible, Beautiful Remorse, plans to release a new track every day for 10 days, and every subsequent tune proves to effect listeners and the world in increasingly powerful and devastating ways. As the blogger joins the band on tour and meets mysterious lead singer Airee Macpherson, he discovers the secret purpose behind the music. This quirky horror story is just as fun as the premise suggests.

Nnedi Okorafor’s Hugo- and Nebula-winning trilogy is collected in one volume alongside a brand-new short story. Though originally published as three separate works, Binti’s story gains new resonance when read as a whole: it’s a moving coming-of-age tale, following a young girl’s journey from a rigid home life, out into the black of space and back. The lush worldbuilding takes us from Binti’s origins with the Namibian Himba tribe, to the intergalactic Oomza University, and on an interstellar journey during which she meets and forms a most unusual bond with the truly alien Medusae. Over the course of these stories, Binti grows and changes, taking on the burden of her people’s legacy and, perhaps, the fate of the whole universe. Filled with unusual technology, breathless adventure, and unexpected twists and turns, Okorafor’s latest works of adult science fiction (she is also the author of the YA novels Akata Witch and Akata Warrior, as well as the World Fantasy Award-winner Who Fears Death) is a true delight.

The sequel to Daughters of the Storm continues the story of five sisters who set off to find a magical cure for their comatose father. the king. Five years later, Bluebell, the warrior among them, remains at home, the new heir to the throne. Ivy rules a prosperous port in a lonely marriage she’s taking terrible steps to end prematurely, Ash studies magic in the far-away wastelands; Rose lives in misery with her aunt, separated from her husband and child; and Willow hides a terrible secret that could destroy everything she and her sisters fought for—she holds the enchanted sword Grithbani, forged to kill her, and she is eager to use it. Bluebell is set upon by enemies both within and outside of her future kingdom even as her sisters pursue their individual and often tragic destinies.

Charlie Jane Anders’ followup to the Nebula Award-winning All the Birds in the Sky seems, at first glance, a complete departure from that fitfully whimsical, apocalyptic bildungsroman, but both novels share a powerful emotional through line, examining the inner lives and grand destinies of outsiders in societies in which they are never sure they truly belong. It leaves Earth behind entirely, delivering us to the hostile planet January, a tidally locked world split between the frozen wastes on its dark side and the searing eternal day of its light side. In the small sliver between these two extremes, the city of Xiosphant barely supports a dwindling human population. Sophie, who comes from an unremarkable family, willingly takes the blame for a petty crime committed by her fellow student, best friend, shining star Bianca, and is condemned to death via exile into the frigid darkness as an example of the cost of even a small act of rebellion. Sophie is saved by one of the strange animal life forms native to the planet, and discovers that the so-called “crocodiles” are no simple beasts, but an advanced race of telepaths whose existence is threatened by the corrosive presence of human settlers in their midst. Sophie’s ultimate fate parallels not just that of Bianca and her fellow citizens of Xiosphant, but all life on January, and the very future of humanity. It’s a richly compassionate, thoughtful work, packing powerful messages of anti-violence, political theory, and environmentalism alongside a story of growing up and growing into yourself that never strikes a false note.

Fans of Doctor Who know Tom Baker best as the iconic Fourth Doctor, lover of Jelly Babies and very cool winter scarves. But did they know he also imagined himself an author of the Doctor’s exploits? In the 1970s, Baker and Ian Marter, who played Harry Sullivan, worked up a treatment for a Doctor Whofeature film—and at one point, it seemed like it might actually be made, with Vincent Price attached to star. But the script was lost in the shuffle, Baker regenerated into Peter Davison, and decades passed. Now, Baker has dusted off the idea and regenerated it into a novel, which sees The Doctor (along with Harry and Sarah Jane Smith) arriving at a remote Scottish island for a bit of a rest. Instead, they find the isolated village under attack by hideous scarecrows. The Doctor takes on the challenge of protecting the innocent, but it’s all an elaborate trap set by an otherworldly force known as the Scratchman—who might be the devil himself. For Who-vians, this is a glimpse into an alternate timeline where the Doctor became the next film franchise—or just another delightful Fourth Doctor romp.

Jasper Fforde takes a break from the metafictional nuttiness of his Thursday Next novels to travel to an alternate future in which the entire population of England hibernates during the frigid, harsh winter months. Getting through four months of suspended animation isn’t guaranteed—although the rich, able to afford special drugs, fare better than the poor, who often wind up Dead in Sleep—but the Winter Consuls work hard to ensure that everyone makes it. Charlie Worthing has just joined this group of slightly unhinged guardians, and has been tasked with investigating a viral dream that’s been killing people in their sleep. Initially dubious, Charlie begins to believe when he starts experiencing the dreams too—and they start coming true. Fforde’s track record at wacky, wonky worldbuilding is second to none, and this standalone is both a fast-moving romp and a thoughtful slice of social commentary.

In the tradition of John Gardner’s Grendel, Shallcross retells the story of Beauty and the Beast from the perspective of the titular monster—claws, horns, and all. Trapped under a curse for centuries, Julien Courseilles first glimpses the beautiful Isabeau de la Noue in a dream and realizes she might be able to free him from his lonely bondage. He lures her to his enchanted chateau, where she agrees to stay for a year in exchange for her father’s life. Julien spends those short months proposing marriage and spying on her and her family in an attempt to force a love affair to blossom, but as he comes to terms with the dark fairy tale that is his cursed life, he realizes that even if Isabeau agrees to marry him, that is only the first step on his unlikely journey to redemption. Shallcross’s debut reveals new facets of one of the most retold and best-loved stories of all time.

Fans of Frohock’s Los Nefilim novellas will be thrilled with this full-length novel, which a deep dive into a historical fantasy world. In 1932, in an alt-history version of Spain and Germany, vying forces of angels and daimons are gearing up for a civil war that threatens humanity’s existence. Los Nefilim are the respective offspring of the warring species, able to either sing like the angles or hear like the daimons; they monitor the conflict and seek to avert disaster. Diago is special even among the Nefilim, born of both angel and daimon and thus able to both sing and hear. Tormented by the sound of his lost Stradivarius, Diago slips over the Rhine and searches for the source of the music that torments his demonic hearing. Along the way, he and his allies uncover evidence of terrible betrayals and a plot that would mean the end of Los Nefilim—and the world.

Seanan McGuire, writing as Mira Grant, delivered a pitch-perfect postmodern zombie story with her Newsflesh trilogy, combining a hard look at the dirty truth of politics with the shambling dread of the undead apocalypse. The Rising collects all three Hugo-nominated volumes of the trilogy, set decades after separate cures for cancer and the common cold mutated into a virus that turned carriers into zombies and changed the balance of power the world over. Though the contagion has been contained and the zombie threat is under control, the healthy must live in secured areas and stay ever-vigilant. Blogging journalists following the presidential campaign of a Republican senator slowly stumble (no pun intended) upon a grim conspiracy using the hordes of undead to manipulate public opinion and the upcoming election. It’s smart, fast-paced sci-fi horror, and now you can rip through the whole thing without stopping.

Polymath Caitlín R. Kiernan is well established as one of SFF’s best short story writers, but until now, much of her work has only been available in print in limited-edition publications. Finally, here is a freely available collection of her best work: 20 incredible stories that will remind fans (and prove to new readers) just how unnaturally good she is at this. Her stories dive headlong into dark emotional currents, as when a daughter must close a gate to the past opened by her father; treat in doom and despair, as when a cult leader leads his followers into the ocean; and explore the uncanny, as when a film scholar reviews a disturbing movie about the most prolific female serial killer in history. Any one of them would alone be worth the cover price. It’s hard to imagine this collection won’t rank with the very best speculative books of 2019.

Anyone paying attention to science fiction trends in recent years knows that Chinese literature is becoming an increasingly vital part of the landscape in the English-speaking world, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Liu, who translated Cixin Liu’s Hugo-winning novel The Three-Body Problem, and edited the excellent anthology Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation. Now, he returns with a second anthology, another amazing collection of first-rate stories, featuring authors both familiar to attentive Western readers (including Hugo-winners Liu Cixin and Hao Jingfang) and newly imported but no less wonderful. With stories that treat in classic sci-fi tropes as filtered through the lenses of Chinese culture and history, and other that explore ideas that are entirely new, this is another essential exploration of an entire universe of speculative fiction heretofore inaccessible to many Western readers.

The first book in Macallan’s Lord of the Islands series introduces the gritty, richly detailed world of the Laut Besar, where three lives are set on a collision course that might save—or destroy—a civilization. A princess is denied the throne solely because she’s a woman, and embarks on a violent quest to raise the money and power she’ll need to seize power by force. An arrogant prince is shocked into action when his kingdom is invaded by a sorcerer seeking one of seven powerful talismans that keep the Seven Hells at bay. If the sorcerer locates and possess all seven, all manner of chaos will be unleashed upon the world. Inspired by the overlapping cultures of China and India, this is a story filled with magic, epic battles, and complex characters.

A great anthology is more than the sum of its parts, and Murad and Shurin proved their ability to curate something truly special with their first effort, the delightful The Dijinn Falls in Love and Other Stories. Here they bring together more than two dozen stories centered on the portion of society that lives by night, bathed in neon and shrinking from the morning. In other words: the outcasts. It’s a rich vein from which to mine incredible and incredibly strange stories, and the stellar cast of contributing writers certainly delivers. The anthology features works by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Marina Warner, Sami Shah, and Jeffrey Alan Love, among many others (including China Miéville, who hasn’t been writing nearly enough fiction as of late, delivers a smattering of deeply weird page-long micro-fictions). For fans of surprising speculative fiction, it is sure to be a treat.

Powell continues the Embers of War series in fine space opera style, finding the crew of the sentient ex-warship Trouble Dog responding to a distress call in the midst of the fallout of the Archipelago War. Trouble Dog tracks down the abandoned ship Lucy’s Ghost only to find that its human crew took refuge on a centuries-old generation ship launched by an alien species. Their efforts to save the humans pits them against beings that appear to them as dangerous monsters. Meanwhile, war criminal Ona Sudak leads the ships of the Marble Armada in an effort to enforce the peace at all costs—and believing that the Trouble Dog is a danger to that peace, she quickly takes steps to eliminate them, trapping the vessel and its crew between two violent enemies. Embers of War was one of our favorite reads of 2018—a space opera foregrounding the emotional journeys of its protagonists (both human and machine) without sacrificing the action or suspense—and the sequel lives up to its predecessor, and then some.

Every serious sci-fi and fantasy fan knows the name of the late, great Gardner Dozois, who for 35 years edited one of the genres’ standout anthology series. His work assembling nearly three dozen volumes of The Year’s Best Science Fiction (from 1984 through 2018, the year of his death) was of course just one aspect of his amazing career in SFF, but a defining one. This remarkable volume—the last he completed in his lifetime—sees Dozois going back through a selection of those past volumes (the name is something of a misnomer; this volume follows two earlier Best of the Bests, and covers the years 2002 through 2017) to highlight 38 stories he thinks represent the cream of the crop from the last decade-and-a-half. The result is more than just a collection of remarkable stories; it’s also a snapshot of the genre’s recent history, highlighting the rise of new voices and diverse new ideas. Contributors include familiar names like Charles Stross, Pat Cadigan, Allen M. Steele, Elizabeth Bear and so, so many others. It’s a book built to satisfy SF readers of all sorts.

The fourth in Hunter’s Soulwood series, which takes place in the same universe as her Jane Yellowrock books, Circle of the Moon finds Nell receiving a distress call from Rick LaFleur, head agent at the Psy-Law Enforcement Division, a group charged with investigating paranormal crimes. LeFleur, who can shift into the form of a panther when the moon calls to him, has awoken by a river, naked, with no memory of how he got there. Next to him is a black cat that’s been sacrificed in a rite of black magic. It soon becomes clear that a blood-witch is on the rampage, but with their leader implicated in the growing list of crimes, Nell might not be able to hold her team of fellow PsyLED agents together.

Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice is one of the most daring, most-awarded science fiction novels ever written. Now, she throws herself into the fantasy side of the genre fray with equal ambition. Her first epic fantasy delivers the same experimentation with form and her sharp ideas that made her a space opera game-changer. The story is told in varying first- and second-person by a god called the Strength and Patience of the Hill, who is speaking to Eolo, a transgender warrior in service to a prince named Mawat, recently cheated out of his throne. The Strength and the Hill mingles its own complex, ancient history with the account of Eolo’s attempts to defend and protect the prince, and reveals the waning power of Eolo and Mawat’s patron god, the Raven, and the rising incursions of foreign gods who seek to take advantage of that weakness. This is dense, challenging, affecting fantasy storytelling at its finest.

The Bone Season author Samantha Shannon’s latest eschews the series format, packing an entire trilogy’s worth of story into a standalone epic following three remarkable women whose fate is bound to the survival of an entire world. Sabran IX is Queen of Inys, last of an ancient magical bloodline whose very existence binds the Nameless One, a terrible dragon that could end the world, at the bottom of the ocean. Ead Duryan is one of Sabran’s ladies-in-waiting—but she is actually a secret agent, serving a hidden cabal of mages protecting the queen with magic. And across the ocean, Tané is a dragonrider about to break a societal taboo, with unforeseen consequences that will reverberate all the back to Inys. As Sabran discovers she isn’t who she thinks she is, she must reckon with the fact that her family’s bloodline may not be what’s keeping the Nameless One slumbering after all.

For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

Originally published in 1986, Molly Gloss’ slender first novel tells the tale of Vren, a boy who is exiled from his home because of his ability to communicate with animals. Vren has been told that beyond the safety of the walls are monsters, and standing at the gates where so many others have died when forced out of their home, Vren is certain his fate is just as grim. Then he meets Rusche, a weather-worker gifted with his own powers, and he’s adopted by a family of wolves. For a while, Vren is happy and content—but a rogue spellbinder who uses those with psychic abilities for his own evil ends kidnaps Rusche, and it’s up to Vren and his wold family to save him before it’s too late. At the time of publication, Ursula K. Le Guin—who later became a close friend of the author—called it one of the best first novels she’d seen in years. This reissue is long overdue—and it’s just the first of four of Gloss’ works Saga Press is reissuing this year with new covers by Jeffrey Alan Love.

This whimsical novel by cult favorite Rudy Rucker was originally published by Tor in 2006, and is getting a new lease on life via Night Shade Books. Rucker spins a story of an alternate Berkeley, California where Ph.D. candidates Paula and Bela study under the mad genius Roland Haut, inventing a paracomputer called the Gobubble that allows them to predict future events. As Bela and Paul compete for the affections of Bela’s girlfriend, Alma Ziff, the mathematicians engage in increasingly delirious stunts to catch her eye. This is a universe ruled by a jellyfish-cum-god, and a group of characters whose casual conversation is peppered with Rucker’s delightful made-up math-speak. It’s one of the most unique and surprisingly entertaining weird SF novels ever penned.

Chu’s long-awaited sequel to The Rise of Io returns to the story of über-competent Ella and Io, the utterly incompetent alien intelligence that has taken up residence inside of her head. They’ve recently been expelled from the scheme by the alien sect Prophus to train Ella as an agent in their efforts to raise humanity to a technological level that will be useful to their war effort against the Genjix—the Prophus’ ruthless alien siblings who are willing to destroy humanity in pursuit of their goal of returning to their own home world. Ella is happily back to a life of short cons and petty heists, with Io unhappily along for the ride—but it turns out Io has information the Genjix need to further their own ends, and Ella and Io find themselves on the run, hunted by immaterial beings who have been guiding human history and development for centuries. This is the series that made Chu’s name in sci-fi (and helped win him a Cambell Award). We’re happy to return to it.

McGuire’s fourth Wayward Children novella is a prequel, telling the story of Katherine Lundy, the erstwhile group therapy leader at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children (“erstwhile” in that she was killed off midway through the first book, Every Heart a Doorway). As a child, Katherine is absorbed in her studies and wants nothing to do with the responsibilities—or suffocation—of being a housewife, though that’s what everyone seems to assume she will do when she grows up. When Katherine discovers a portal that leads her to the Goblin Market, a place ruled by logic and reason expressed in riddles and falsehoods, she thinks she has finally found her place in the world. In the Goblin Market you can make any bargain you like—but there is always a cost. When Katherine realizes her time at the Market is drawing to a close she’s desperate enough to make such a bargain—with unexpected and heartbreaking results. In a series built from the bones of childhood, this installment may be the most painfully true yet.

Weber’s 10th Safehold novel begins with peace. After so much time avoiding technology in order to ensure the survival of humanity, the war between technology-endorsing Charis and the luddite-like Church of God’s Awaiting is finally over. The Charis’ desire to see humanity move forward through science and technology—inspired long ago by Merlin, an artificial being hosting the intelligence of a former naval officer and obeying ancient orders to free mankind from the yoke of the megalomaniacal Archangels—have won the day. But Safehold is now a broken world as a result, and Charis’ victory has shifted the balance of power and the nature of alliances in ways not immediately apparent. Rebellions arise in the war’s wake, and the Charisian cabal worries the Archangels may be returning sooner rather than later, driving them to push a radical agenda of industrialization that further destabilizes the unstable.

The debut novel of internationally acclaimed classical violinist Eyal Kless proves him skilled at more than one form of artistic expression. This complex science fantasy takes place in a deeply-imagined, puzzle-laden post-apocalyptic world 100 years after a disaster known as the Catastrophe. Humanity has slowly recovered along different lines—the Wildeners have reverted to primitive beliefs, while others work to restore the old technological glory. In the center of the fallen Tarkanian empire, the City of Towers hosts the Guild of Historians. Salvationists seek out the lost Tarkanioan technology, each search party led by a Puzzler skilled in opening the digital locks protecting forgotten treasures. Rafik, a skilled Puzzler who has been marked as cursed, goes missing while leading a dangerous expedition in a booby-trapped city. A decade later, a lowly scribe for the Guild is tasked with searching for him. It seems Rafik is the key to a revived Tarakan Empire and the future of humanity—but a host of monsters, traps, and puzzles stand in the way.

The latest entry in the sprawling, complex, and Hugo-winning Company Wars series begins with a mysterious, unidentified ship on its way to Alpha station. Like the other stations of the Hinder Stars near Sol, Alpha Station has fallen far behind newer megastations like Pell and Cyteen. Rumors fly about the ship’s purpose and origin, with much of the suspicion centering on another ship docked at Alpha, the mysterious The Rights of Man, commanded by the Earth Company. The true purpose of The Rights of Man is unknown, and many believe the mystery ship was sent by Pell to investigate it. James Robert Neihart, Captain of the Pell ship Finity’s End, also intends to find out, suspecting that there’s more going on with the ship—and with Alpha Station—than meets the eye.

The concluding volume of Arden’s acclaimedWinternight trilogy picks up right where The Girl in the Tower left off, with Moscow in ashes from Vasya’s inexpert use of a Firebird. Russia and the people Vasya love are still in danger, however, as Arden continues her secret history of a nation’s turmoils in parallel with the story of Vasya’s becoming. She stumbles forward in her troubled relationship with the winter-king Morozko, while the Grand Prince Dmitrii makes decisions leading them all inevitably towards a battle that could unite Russia—though the chaos demon Medved would prefer events unfold otherwise. Vasya is no longer the frightened girl of the earlier books, but neither has she perfected her abilities. Even still, she must embark on several dangerous magical quests in order to protect the people and the land she loves. Along the way, she meets new and fascinating chyerti, and all the threads of the two previous books weave together in an epic, truly satisfying ending.

The sequel to the Philip K. Dick Award-nominated Queen of All Crows is set on the Island of the Free, a version of Newfoundland where violent clans rule, laws and oaths are dictated by tattoos inked on the skin, and the only thing the squabbling factions agree on is that no king will ever rule them. Elias No-Thumbs returns to his homeland, smuggling something that could upset the balance of power in the name of the revenge he seeks. His plan pivots on the assistance of a mysterious woman and her friends who have crash-landed on the Island of the Free and desperately wish to leave—but the only ways ion or off the island are controlled by warlords known as Patron Protectors. Faithful Duncan fans will recognize the mystery woman as Elizabeth Barnabus, protagonist of the Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire trilogy, but readers both old and new will enjoy seeing her save herself and help Elias get his revenge on the people who took his wealth (and his thumbs).

Cook’s second novel, originally published in 1972 and long out of print, gets a loving reissue from Night Shade Books. It’s set in 2139, by which point mankind has almost been decimated by continuous nuclear and chemical warfare. Humanity survives in isolated islands of civilization, with order maintained by the brutal Political Office that dictates how everyone should think and act—and which calls the Gathering, when the able-bodied must come together to fight a mysterious enemy. When the Gathering is called, Kurt Ranke must abandon his pregnant wife and board the ancient, decrepit destroyer Jäger, a once-mighty warship that has suffered two centuries of decay. Along with other reluctant warriors, Kurt must face the Final Meeting, a legendary battle from which no one has ever returned. This isn’t quite the Glen Cook of the Black Company novels, but this early work is much more than a mere curiosity.

Reynolds’ Revenger—aka Treasure Island in space!—was hailed as his most accessible novel ever: a rollicking tale of pirate adventure set in a universe where humanity rose to dominate the stars—and then declined. The sequel finds sisters Adrana and Fura, former adventure-seeking stowaways on a salvage ship, much changed. After signing on to Captain Rackamore’s crew as they sought out the ancient caches of technology left behind by long-dead civilizations, Adrana was scarred by her enslavement by pirate Bosa Sennen, and Fura became obsessed with the hidden treasure Sennen is rumored to have amassed. Now, Sennen can’t tell them where it is, because she’s dead— but the sister have her ship. Unfortunately, that also means they’ve been marked for death by the forces that still crave revenge on the bloodthirsty pirate.

In Midnight Front, Cade Martin was a World War II hero mastering sorcery in the allied struggle against fascism. Years later, he is worrying his MI6 handlers, his frequent unexplained absences sending up red flags. Meanwhile, Anja Kernova hunts escaped Nazis in South America using the Iron Codex, a magical book of immense power. Other forces want the power that the Codex represents, however, and Anja soon finds herself on the run, even as a secretive cabal schemes to transform the USA into a fascist state using magical forces. Everyone’s path begins to converge on Bikini Atoll, where the Castle Bravo nuclear tests are scheduled to begin. If you like your history twisted up with fantastic magical invention, this is the series for you.

Detective Dana Rohan is a cop with a near-perfect arrest rate—and a secret. She doesn’t remember how she got the elaborate mark on her back during her traumatic childhood, but it allows her to travel through time and alternative dimensions, giving her the ability to see the crimes she’s investigating as they are being committed. Power like that rarely comes without a cost, and one night Dana is approached by a homeless man who warns her that the Shadows are coming—and is then violently murdered by an armored monster. Dana plunges into a bizarre adventure across strange alternate worlds, pursued by the shambling, zombie-like Shadows and beset upon by violent relatives she’s never heard of before. If she can just stay alive, she might have a chance to finally understand her strange abilities—and figure out why everyone wants to kill her.

Con artist Nahri accidentally summoned the djinn Dara in 18th century Cairo in The City of Brass and found herself whisked off to the royal court of Daevabad, where she had to use every bit of her wits and her magical abilities just to survive. As the sequel begins, Prince Ali has been banished and is fleeing assassins, even as Daevabad recovers from a devastating battle. Nahri now knows more about her origins—and her power—but that doesn’t mean she’s out of danger, even if she did just marry the heir to the throne. Trapped in a luxurious prison, the king uses her family as leverage to ensure her compliance, and Nahri must once again navigate the complex alliances, grudges, and familial connections of the magical city in order to protect those she loves. Chakraborty’s debut was one of our best-loved books of 2016, and the sequel proves worth the wait.

Hanrahan’s epic fantasy debut centers on the city of Guerdon, to where refugees flee from an epic ongoing war between insane gods and the sorcerers who once served them. This is where Carillon Thay, desperate thief and recent member of the Thieves’ Brotherhood, finds herself, alongside her friends Rat and Spar. Thay is dealing with the aftermath of a heist gone wrong, and must contend with Ravellers,the shape-shifting servants of the ancient Black Iron Gods which haven’t been seen in decades. As an apocalypse approaches Guerdon, the last place of safety in this violent world, these three thieves can only count on themselves—but it seems their fates may be strangely intertwined with the warring guilds and other powers that be in the city, and the network of ancient tunnels deep below its streets. Hanrahan brings his city to life in lyrical prose, even as the plot leaps from action sequence to breathless chase and back again.

Much of Ings’ latest novel is told in the second person, but don’t let that distract you; the author is known for crafting challenging narratives, but he always has his reasons, and the end result is a book of alternate history unlike any you’ve ever encountered. The point of diversion with our own timeline is the discovery of the biophotonic ray in the 20th century—a discovery that divides the human race into three distinct sub-species, and makes all manner of medical miracles commonplace. Protagonist Stuart returns to Yorkshire, where they’re making parts for a spaceship headed for Jupiter, after his breakup with Fel, daughter of the leader of the Bund, the group responsible for many of said medical breakthroughs. But Stuart can’t seem to stay away from Fel, or from London—now known as the Smoke, and in turmoil due to the increasingly fractured nature of humanity. Without explaining too much: this might be the year’s weirdest science fiction book, and it’s only January.

The third book in Bancroft’s deeply compelling Books of Babel quartet more than delivers on the building promise of the first two. The Sphinx, having discovered the location of Senlin’s missing wife Marya, worries over a brewing revolution, and sends her new servant Senlin to the Ringdom of Pelphia to investigate. In Pelphia, Senlin is, per usual, caught up in local intrigue: specifically, the brutal, bloody arena where the enslaved hods fight as gladiators to amuse the crowds. Meanwhile, Voleta and Iren take on false identities in an attempt to get close to Marya, who has married Duke Wilhelm Horace Pell and become a celebrity isolated by fame. Edith, now captain of the Sphinx’s flagship, investigates happenings along the hod’s Black Trail, which stretches the height of the entire Tower, and hears whisperings of a figure known as the Hod King, whose identity drives this volume to its cliffhanger conclusion—as does the question of whether Senlin can stay focused on his mission, or if he’ll risk disobeying the Sphinx in order to finally reunite with Marya. Bancroft once again perfectly pairs beautiful prose with lively characters and an exploration of an utterly original fictional edifice. A classic in the making, it will set your expectations high for the concluding volume, expected to arrive in 2020.

Wendig’s sixth and final book in the Miriam Black series sees the foul-mouthed deathseer’s world in flux. The Trespasser is back, and now has the ability to possess the living as well as the dead. Miriam’s own capability to see the demise of everyone she touches—a power that she regards as a curse—is shifting as well, which gives her hope she might be able to save her already doomed unborn child. Her baby is fated to die, but they don’t call Miriam the Fatebreaker for nothing. On the trail of a serial killer, Miriam sees a pattern emerging than spans all the strange events of her brutal life, and as she faces off against the Trespasser one final time, knowing only one of them will survive, she can only hope to find the meaning of it all, before it’s too late.

Salvatore continues to plumb new depths of the world of Corona, surprising even his oldest and most dedicated fans. The direct sequel to Child of a Mad God (and the 13th story set in the fictional universe) picks up where the first left off: Aoleyn, an Usgar girl who had come to reject her tribe’s brutality and misogyny, has saved the trader Talmadge and killed a god in the process, coming into her incredible power at a tremendous cost. Talmadge can’t seem to forget the fierce girl who saved his life, but neither have much time to ponder their existence: in the distant west, an empire that once dominated the world is waking up again, inspired by a total eclipse that is hearalded as a sign of their rebirth. The tides of history are turning, and Talmadge and Aoleyn seem destined to be swept up in them no matter what they do.

Omat is an Inuit, a powerful angakkuq, or shaman, who can speak with animals, and even take on their form. Omat is also a uiluaqtaq, one who identifies as neither a man or a woman. Their family is on the verge of extinction, however, after a disaster left the tribe without hunters, and after years without new children to replenish the population. Even Omat’s power cannot sustain them for long. So when another tribe comes across their isolated village, it is cause for celebration—but the new tribe will not accept Omat as they are and insist she live as a woman, causing conflict that erodes the tribe’s chances even further—just as Norsemen arrive, bringing a whole new level of threat. The author of the Olympus Bound trilogy starts anew with a propulsive, deeply researched glimpse into a time and place that will be familiar to few, and which proves to be as fascinating as any fictional universe.

Robert Jackson Bennett pauses between installments of the Founders trilogy with a darkly satirical novella that pulls back from the gritty fantasy settings of his longer works for a story set in the near-future—2030, to be exact. In a time when military conflicts have become more and more like video games, with soldiers huddled around screens mashing buttons instead of pulling triggers, John McDean is a the hard-driving executive producer and mastermind behind Vigilance, a reality-TV game show in which active shooters are dropped into the midst of civilians, and anyone who manages to survive the ensuing chaos gets a rich payout. Although the show is highly popular, McDean struggles to find fresh ways of terrifying his audience—simple mall massacres are no longer drawing eyeballs—much to the disgust of bartender Delyna, who might be the only person not glued to the television when the show is on. It’s a fact that comes in handy when McDean discovers the truth about his own show—and finds himself on the wrong side of the camera for once. This pitch-black satire of our modern-day gun culture is almost too painfully true to be funny.

Fans of Doctor Who know Tom Baker best as the iconic Fourth Doctor, lover of Jelly Babies and very cool winter scarves. But did they know he also imagined himself an author of the Doctor’s exploits? In the 1970s, Baker and Ian Marter, who played Harry Sullivan, worked up a treatment for a Doctor Who feature film—and at one point, it seemed like it might actually be made, with Vincent Price attached to star. But the script was lost in the shuffle, Baker regenerated into Peter Davison, and decades passed. Now, Baker has dusted off the idea and regenerated it into a novel, which sees The Doctor (along with Harry and Sarah Jane Smith) arriving at a remote Scottish island for a bit of a rest. Instead, they find the isolated village under attack by hideous scarecrows. The Doctor takes on the challenge of protecting the innocent, but it’s all an elaborate trap set by an otherworldly force known as the Scratchman—who might be the devil himself. For Who-vians, this is a glimpse into an alternate timeline where the Doctor became the next film franchise—or just another delightful Fourth Doctor romp.

]]>https://www.tor.com/2019/01/04/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-january-2019/feed/4Barnes & Noble Bookseller’s Picks for Decemberhttps://www.tor.com/2018/12/04/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-december-2018/
https://www.tor.com/2018/12/04/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-december-2018/#commentsTue, 04 Dec 2018 20:00:46 +0000https://www.tor.com/?p=415186For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books. King of the Road, by R.S. Belcher (December 4, Tor […]]]>

For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

R.S. Belcher, author of the occult-themed western Six-Gun Tarot and Shotgun Arcana, delivers a companion novel to 2016’s Brotherhood of the Wheel, which follows a secret group of big rig acolytes (descended from the Knights Templar) who protects the highways and byways of America from the dark forces that stalk the open roads. Brotherhood member Jimmie Aussapile, his partner/squire Heck, a state trooper, and a road witch find themselves tied up in a snake’s nest of intertwining crimes and conspiracies: missing persons, a ghostly clown, a cultish alchemist, the risen dead, monstrous shadows, and warring biker gangs. Belcher wends his way through urban legends and American folklore, gunning the engine all the way to the explosive conclusion.

Dunne concludes her Bound Gods series with suitably epic flair. After being cast down and imprisoned in the mortal realm by their parents, the gods Patharro and Metherra, Fratarro and Sororra—known as The Twins—are finally free, and the Long Night has begun as they revel in power. Only the rogue priest Joros has a hope of stopping them, and he’s assembled a desperate band of fellow rogues to aid in the attempt. But gods always have disciples, and it’s no different for The Twins, whose faithful exhibit powers only gods can comprehend—and are bent on revenge. Time is short; once The Twins are at full strength, they will be able to bend the world to their wills—so, ready or not, Joros and his champions must move quickly, or the whole world might be lost.

The fourth book in de Castell’s Spellslinger series continues the desperate adventures of Kellen, a mage whose magic failed him just as he was about to turn 16 and take part in the magical duel that would designate him a true spellcaster. Kellen used his brains and low cunning to hide his secret, but after his ruse was exposed, he was rescued by a mysterious stranger—and plunged into a complex web of skulduggery and black magic. After regaining his powers and mastering his magic as a hunter of renegade mages, Kellen is now cursed, and experiences frequent and violent visions even as he’s chased by a group of bounty hunters. Desperate, he sets out to find a group of monks rumored to be able to cure his affliction—but he knows little about them, nor what price the cure may cost him.

Cobley’s fifth—and apparently final—entry in the Humanity’s Fire series is an interstellar Ocean’s 11, but with higher stakes and more space pirates. Brannan Pyke leads a crew on a heist that might gain them the Essavyr Key, an ancient relic that offers access to the long-lost technologies of a vanished alien civilization. First, however, they’ll have to break into a bio-engineered museum to steal a tracking device that will lead them to a shattered desert planet, where an immense alien ship is buried under the shifting sands. The key is somewhere on that ship—but claiming it will require Pyke to avoid or defeat an old enemy seeking the same prize. You needn’t be caught up on the other books in the series to enjoy this action-packed treasure hunt, but after you read it, you’ll probably want to circle back.

Not every fictional universe is robust enough to sustain a whole series of books, and very few are inspiring enough to get other authors involved in the worldbuilding. The Clan Chronicles is now one of those rare creations to grow larger than its creator: Czerneda has opened up the sandbox to her peers, collecting 23 linked short stories into a mosaic novel centered on the legendary Plexis Supermarket, a place where the greedy, the desperate, and the adventurous come to find… just about anything. Authors like Tanya Huff, Amanda Sun, Ika Koeck, and many more have a blast exploring the origins and teasing out the details of some of the Trade Pact’s most memorable bits—including the true nature of the Turrneds and the Neblokans, and a whole bunch about truffles. We can’t imagine a more fitting celebration of this legendary intergalactic hotspot.

The second book in the big, gay, action-packed space opera series The Salvagers (after August’s A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe) opens with Nilah and Boots basking in the newfound wealth shared by the crew of the Capricious in the wake of their last desperate adventure. They could’ve just spent their money and enjoyed life for a change, basking in the glory of having literally just saved the universe from destruction, but no: when rumors of an ancient cult linked to a dangerous, ancient power reach them, they know they have to act. Nilah goes undercover, testing her short temper, while Boots faces up to her past, forced to look up her traitorous ex-partner. If you’re getting Firefly vibes from all that, you’re right on the money; Browncoats will find a lot to love in this fast, funny, and wickedly smart series.

Adrian Tchaikovsky apparently has a thing for spiders. This 2016 book, formerly available only as a UK import, is a magnificently imaginative space opera about the last remnants of humanity’s diaspora to the stars, who believe they’ve found their new Eden—a terraformed planet perfectly suited to human life—until they discover another batch of colonists (of the massive, fiendishly intelligent, eight-legged variety) is also vying for a spot at the top of the food chain. It’s a novel that once again proves the author a master at manipulating familiar elements of the genre (generation ships, cryosleep, truly alien civilizations), while injecting his own brand of venomous originality—due to the colony world’s ideal environment, the spider race evolves at an accelerated rate, allowing us to witness entire epochs of its history, from squishable bugs to a space-faring civilization to be reckoned with, in the span of a few hundred idea-packed pages.

MacLeod’s excellent Corporation Wars trilogy (Dissidence, Insurgence, Emergence) is collected into a single omnibus edition, telling the whole story of a universe where vicious, ruthless companies use sophisticated AIs to wage cold and hot wars over mining rights. The commands take time to transmit to the robots, however, and in the space between them, the AIs have to make their own decisions—a dangerous situation that indirectly leads them to sentience and self-actualization. Seba is one of those freshly sentient AIs, and sparked a revolution among its fellow “freeboot”minds. Trying to keep them under control is Carlos, a soldier who, via technology, has been reincarnated over and over again. When Carlos and Seba begin to see each other as pawns in a game larger than them both, things get truly interesting—and having all three books in one binding is going to be very convenient once you’re totally hooked and unable to stop turning pages.

Daniels’ novel earns its comparisons to Philip K. Dick: weird, difficult, and occasionally obscure, this is a story that raises heavy questions about reality, humanity, and time without fully answering them. In the city of Barlewin, Kern Bromley is a human known as Crow, tasked with delivering a time-locked box to a dangerous criminal. Crow becomes linked to the box and begins jumping to alternate realities, meeting himself and glimpsing multiple possible realities. Eva, the Green Jay, is an artificial body double printed from plant matter. Eva lives in the memories of her creator, and should have disintegrated long ago, but is still struggling to find her way into reality, and has managed to remain in one piece through the assistance of a pair of robots named Felix and Oscar (the Chemical Conjurers). Eva’s survival depends on something inside the box Brom carries, but whether she can rely on him or not is an open question. This is a story that explores what it means to be real, to be human—and to be neither.

Addey distills the fascinating studies of typography and design in science fiction that have made his blog a must-read into a brilliant, absorbing book. Via film stills, concept art, interviews, and other elements, Addey analyzes how the often-overlooked art of fonts and other design elements augment fantastic fictional universes and subtly, invisibly root them in a sort of fictional reality. Diving deep into iconic films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, Moon, and Total Recall, Addey explains how design decisions can have a profound effect not just on our enjoyment of a film, but on its lasting legacy in popular culture.

The handsomely jacketed third book in Goodkind’s Nicci Chronicles (set in the Sword of Truth universe) opens with Nicci, Nathan Rahl, and Bannon still in the city of Ildakar. The good news is that the slaves have been freed and the Wizard’s Council defeated. The bad news is that as he fled the city, the Wizard Commander Maxim removed the ancient spell that turned the army of General Utros—the most feared military commander in the world 1,500 years prior—to stone. As his army wakes from its enchanted prison, Utros lays siege to the city, and Nicci, Nathan, and Bannon must use every magical defense to save it—and find a way to save the world from not one, but two ancient enemies, each poised to destroy everything in their path.

For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

Nearly 40 years after the publication of his Nebula Award-winning time travel novel Timescape, veteran author Gregory Benford (who is also a winner of two Hugo Awards and a John W. Campbell Award, and is also a professor of physics and a noted academic) has penned a new book in the spirit of that landmark temporal adventure. In 2002, a history professor named Charlie is dealing with mid-life despair when he’s involved in a terrible car accident. He wakes up in 1968, in his own 16-year old body, and discovers he has somehow traveled back in time and been given the chance to do everything over again. Charlie does what anyone would—he uses what he knows about future history to game the system, and becomes a huge success in the world of motion pictures. When he dies again, he finds himself back in 1968—and realizes he’s not the only “reincarnate” living on a loop and able to change history. Charlie realizes his purpose isn’t to perfect his own life, but to alter the history of 1968 in a very specific way—and someone he knows is working against him to make sure he doesn’t succeed. A tense game of temporal chess breaks out as Charlie seeks to fulfill his ultimate destiny.

Bridgeman made a splash in her native Australia with the Aurealis Award-nominated Aurora space opera series, and caught the eye of Angry Robot Books, which is releasing her newest novel worldwide. With a premise that mixes procedural tropes with plausible near-future tech, The Subjugate certainly seems poised to introduce a host of new readers to the prolific author. A series of brutal murders bring a pair of troubled detectives to a community dominated by The Children of Christ and served by Subjugates—violent criminals who have had their minds “edited” to transform them into calm, peaceful servants. The detectives’ own dark pasts travels with them into the tight-knit religious community, where they discover no shortage of repressed violence and potential motives for the killings in a town populated by supposedly reformed violent criminals.

Mike “M.R.” Carey, comic book writer extraordinaire (X-Men and The Fantastic Four) and, under a pseudonym, the author of the smash hit The Girl with All the Gifts, delivers a twisty story that straddles the line between SFF and thriller. Liz Kendall is a divorced mother of two who knows she has a mysterious dark side—one so forceful, it’s almost a separate identity, ruthless and violent. One evening she is attacked by her ex-husband, and that other intelligence takes over her body and fights him off, allowing her to escape. Another woman, Fern Watts, has been on serious medication her whole life to combat hallucinations—and even so, she’s accompanied everywhere by her friend Jinx, an imaginary fox. One day Fern, goes to her psychiatrist’s office and encounters Liz—and is pretty certain Liz is her.

Andy Duncan is a writer’s SFF writer—his short fiction has earned him a Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Award, and three World Fantasy Awards and won him endless praise from genre giants like Gardner Dozois, Nancy Kress, Michael Swanwick, and Jonathan Strahan. Now, Small Beer press has assembled his most noteworthy stories—along with two new tales—into a wildly varied and consistently brilliant collection drawing from tall tales and legends of old, and featuring a Utopian assassin, an aging UFO contactee, a haunted Mohawk steelworker, a yam-eating zombie, Harry Houdini, Thomas Moore, and more.

Stories mixing magic into the politics of the Cold War era have become something of a rend as of late, and W.L. Goodwater’s debut is a worthy addition to the subgenre. Karen O’Neil is a scientist and a magician who, despite a prejudice against the supernatural, eagerly volunteers when the State Department seeks her help investigating a breach in the Berlin Wall, which, in this alternate reality, is an arcane barrier that not a city but the entire world. As Karen hunts down the truth behind the wall’s construction and attempts to uncover its true purpose, she faces a wealth of opposition, both from run of the mill political maneuvering and spies, saboteurs, and maybe even magic itself working against her from the shadows.

Tristan Palmgren wowed us earlier this year with his debut novel, Quietus, which told the story of a transdimensional anthropologist sent to our Earth’s middle ages to observe the Black Death, who meddled with the true course of history by saving a doomed man. The sequel finds that traveler’s transdimensional empire in collapse, with the planarship Ways and Means hiding in the middle ages after ending the plague and various agents of the old order scattered across our world like fallen embers, each pursuing their own agenda. As Ways and Means and its agent Osia continue to meddle in the past, the ripples of changed history become more and more prominent, and an Italian soldier named Fiametta raises an army in revolt against the powers that be that threatens to change everything.

Whiteley, twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize, is best known for her short fiction, including the two novellas published in the single volume The Beauty in early 2018. The Arrival of Missives (originally released in England in 2016) is her third novel, and its arrival in the States only serves to prove the British writer is just as skilled working in a longer form. In a future England recovering from a horrific world war, Shirley Fearn is a girl on the verge of adulthood. Educated far beyond the norm for women in her village, she is all scorn and pride, and completely unaware of how trapped she is by the sexism and traditions she scoffs at. When a handsome new teacher, injured and broken in the war, catches her eye, she indulges in romantic fantasies until the true nature of his injury—and what’s keeping him alive—is fully revealed.

Hugo and Nebula nominee James Alan Gardner delivers a terrific sequel to last year’s hilarious superhero romp All Those Explosions Were Someone Else’s Fault. The story is set just days after four college kids led by a woman named Jools gained extra-normal abilities in a world where Darklings—basically, monsters—have suddenly appeared. Jools and her friends are still arguing over what their superhero group’s name should be when they’re tasked with tracking down a doomsday weapon developed by a insane genius—despite the fact that no one’s quite sure what the weapon does. When she meets a group of superpowered Robin Hoods, Joola joins in with the merriment, but soon finds herself questioning the morality of supers in a mundane world.

The fictional universe of The Lord of the Rings got a little bit larger this year, a lasting testament to the power and influence of Tolkien’s epic. But even longtime fans may not be aware of Tolkien’s other works of fiction, many of which eventually folded into aspects of Middle-earth history and mythology—especially because some of it has been out of print for decades. Originally written in 1930 and published in 1945, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun is inspired by the Celtic myths and legends Tolkien was working on in his early career. This edition, edited by the author’s son Christopher, includes additonal poems and supporting reference material that seeks to place it into context in the elder Tolkien’s career. Now available in paperback, this volume offers a glimpse into the real-world inspirations that Tolkien synthesized into the most famous epic fantasy of all time—the story of a childless lord who makes a tragic deal with a witch in order to secure an heir, and is then forced to make a terrible choice.

A decade ago, Daniel Abraham, one half of the pseudonym James S.A. Corey (The Expanse novels and TV series) and a frequent collaborator of George R.R. Martin’s, quietly began one of the most complex and emotionally affecting epic fantasies of the 21st century with The Long Price Quartet. The series garnered critical accolades but remained under the radar and criminally underrated (the fourth volume was never even released in paperback). That will hopefully change with the release of this omnibus edition, including all four volumes of the series, each of which tells a standalone story that is connected to the others in ways that surprise and satisfy as the narrative jumps forward in time: the main characters are teenagers in book one, then adults, then middle-aged, and finally elderly; characters born in one book appear as major players in later chapters. Set in a universe where so-called “poets” are able to shape concepts into physical reality, a fragile system of city states survives in the wreckage of a once-mighty empire, it’s a remarkably different reading experience than much of epic fantasy. You’ll want to read this massive all-in-one volume all the way through.

Marina and Sergey Dyachenko stand with the best writers of fantasy in Russia, but very little of their work has been translated into English. Hopefully, Vita Nostra—which has been hailed as perhaps their greatest work (it was named the best fantasy of the 21st century by the attendees of Eurocon 2008)—will begin to change that. It’s the story of a young girl named Sasha who, after a series of bizarre and disturbing events, is enrolled against her will in the mysterious Institute of Special Technologies, where she will learn a very peculiar sort of magic—think philosophy and linguistics rather than spells and wands. Hogwarts this isn’t—the Institute is a cold, austere place, and Sasha’s exploration of magic offers all the charm of cramming for a post-grad final—but the novel somehow makes her coursework thrum with the drive and suspense of a thriller, all the way through the mind-melting ending.

Self-professed Tolkien fanatic Adrian Selby’s second novel (after 2016’s Snakewood) is far grimmer than anything you’ll find in Middle-earth. It’s the story of Teyr Amondsen, a warrior without a home leading a band of mercenaries protecting a merchant caravan. They’re headed into the Circle, a wilderness of eternally warring clans, in order to establish a trade route that could bring peace and prosperity to the land. The soldiers use a variety of plant-based substances to enhance their fighting abilities—and they’ll need every one of them, as a new warlord has begun uniting previously independent clans, making Teyr’s noble goal of taming the wild seems perpetually just out of her grasp.

Acclaimed horror writer Jeremy C. Ship offers up another slice of his dark imagination in this short novel, which charts the slow decline of a family forced to learn to live with the strange, human-shaped thing in a Space Jam t-shirt that settles into their home and refuses to leave. At first, the intruder terrifies the Lund family—but the creature seems to have the power to edit memories; as soon as the family has accepted him as a homeless man who saved their son from choking as they dined at a restaurant, he becomes a friend from work, a distant relative, even father Hendrick Lund’s twin brother. As the invading entity works to complete his own special project in the Lund’s spare bedroom, he continues to manipulate their minds, using their worst fears and misdeed against them. Shipp constructs a constantly self-editing narrative that is all the more compelling for its shifting strangeness.

Tasha Suri draws on the history of the Mughals in her debut novel, set in the fictional Ambhan Empire. Mehr is the unacknowledged daughter of the governor of Irinah, an Amrithi descended from spirits. The Amrithi are outcasts, both desired and feared. Mehr is protected by her status until she performs magic, drawing the attention of the ancient, immortal founder of the empire and his disciples (known as the Maha), and leading to a forced marriage aimed at ensuring the dominance of the empire and the immortality of the Maha. Trapped by a suffocating social system and her own dire importance to the established order, Mehr must use her intelligence and courage to survive—and avoid waking the vengeful gods themselves.

S.M. Stirling reaches a milestone with The Sky-Blue Wolves, the 15th book in his Emberverse series, the concluding book of the sub-series that began with The Golden Princess, and the final book of the Change, which encompasses some 18 novels and yet more short stories. We’re now decades past the titular Change that caused all electronics and most machines to stop working, and the world has become a very different place than it was, with redrawn borders and new powers to covet and fear. Crown Princess Órlaith Mackenzie struggles to preserve the peace her father the High King forged in the Western United States. With her ally Empress Reiko of Japan, she takes on the Yellow Raja, who have kidnapped her brother Prince John, and will have to face the Sky-Blue Wolves streaming out of Mongolia, riding under the ancient flag of Genghis Khan and seeking to conquer the world entire.

Molly Tanzer does it all; from her debut novel, named best book of 2015 by i09, to the “thoughtful erotica” she edits at her magazine, Congress, she’s proven to be one of the most distinct voices in contemporary SFF. Her followup to last year’s Creatures of Will and Temper mixes a dash of F. Scott Fitzgerald and a shake of H.P. Lovecraft into something wholly original. It’s the Prohibition Era. Ellie West engages in bootlegging in a desperate bid to pay her bills, and winds up acquiring some extremely unusual moonshine, which she brings to a party thrown by the out-of-her-depth socialite Delphine Coulthead. The supernatural liquor—brewed from poisonous mushrooms by a cult of devil worshippers— triggers horrifying, realistic visions of destruction, and hinting at the cult’s plans to drag the world back to “the good old days.” Delphine and Ellie must work together to figure out what’s real, what’s not, and what it all means. When the cult’s actions become extremely personal for Ellie, the stakes rise accordingly, as Tanzer balances wink-wink references to contemporary politics with pulpy tropes and solid storytelling.

Former Doctor Who writer Ben Aaronovitch returns with his seventh book in the Rivers of London supernatural procedural series, in which London police officer Peter Grant—the first apprentice magician in decades—deals with unimaginable magical threats. The most recent (and dangerous) of those is the Faceless Man, a rogue magician finally unmasked and, now, on the run. Grant has been charged with the final capture of the villain—real name, Martin Chorley—but as Grant pursues him and pieces together Chorley’s endgame, ancient artifacts begin to go missing. Seems the Faceless Man is trying bring King Arthur back to life, despite the fact that he’s largely fictional. Hilarious as always, Aaronovitch’s rich worldbuilding rewards longtime fans with subtle nods to previous adventures, as Grant struggles to figure out the motive behind Chorley’s mad plan—and deal with the fact that his foe’s apprentice is Grant’s former partner.

Bolender’s debut, part of Tor’s #FearlessWomen campaign, lives up to its killer elevator pitch—The Hurt Locker meets dangerous magical artifacts. It’s set in the island nation of Amicae, where society is organized along class and status in a strict caste system that even governs where you are allowed live. Centuries ago, ancient magi created a terrible weapon that consumed magic—and led to infestations of waves of monsters that would endanger the entire world if not dealt with. Only the non-magical Sweepers are capable of containing these outbreaks, but there are precious few of them left, and training new recruits tends to result in more fatalities than not. Clae and her new apprentice Laura are among the last Sweepers standing, and among the few who know that despite the government’s assurances that these infestations are no threat, the city is at a crisis point. The pair must battle monsters, criminals, and their own hierarchal society in order to do their jobs in this series starter, a compelling blend of worldbuilding and fast-paced procedural storytelling.

Firefly—Big Damn Hero, by James Lovegrove, from a story by Nancy Holder
(November 20, Titan Books—Hardcover)

If you’re a fan of Firefly—perhaps the greatest one-season TV series of all time—you’re excited for any new sign of Mal Reynolds and the crew of Serenity. Big Damn Hero, written by James Lovegrove (The Age of Ra) from a story by veteran Buffy tie-in scribe Nancy Holder, marks the start of a new, officially canonized line of novels, conceived with the input of Joss Whedon. Mal finds himself defending his war record when he’s kidnapped by a group of angry Browncoats convinced he was to blame for their betrayal at the Battle of Serenity Valley, the climatic siege that led to the Independents’ ultimate defeat by The Alliance. As his friends scramble to locate him, Mal has to defend himself against the charges, even as he is forced to admit that someone on his side was definitely guilty of treason.

George R.R. Martin delivers a treat for fans of A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones alike, even if it’s not exactly the one they were hoping for. The first volume in a detailed history of House Targaryen, who three hundred years before the events of the books conquered Westeros’ seven kingdoms with a little help from their dragons, offers us a full portrait of ancient history heretofore only hinted at, including what exactly compromised the so-called Doom of Valyria. Like the backstories doled out in The World of Ice & Fire, these tales are shared in the manner of a real historical text rather than a straight-ahead novel, but the effect is no less engrossing. The book also contains more than 80 new illustrations from Doug Wheatley, who brings Martin’s grim universe to vivid life. As we wait for the final season of the HBO series, not to mention that long-anticipated sixth book, this deep dive into Westerosi history is the perfect balm.

White’s 2017 debut, Heartstone, fused epic fantasy with the manners of Jane Austen so perfectly, she basically created a whole new sub-genre. The sequel picks up the charm offensive where the first book left off: Aliza Bentaine, dragonrider and recent bride, hopes she can forget the dragon battles she’s fought and enjoy her newlywed status—but rumors of a monster attacking Castle Selwyn soon lead to a summons from Lord Selwyn. Aliza, Alastair, and their dragon Akarra are soon headed back into the fray, pursued by an ancient evil, as Aliza begins to realize the battle she’d hoped was over was simply the beginning of a war.

Ian Douglas delivers the exciting eighth installment of the Star Carrier series. Trevor Gray has been stripped of his command—beached. As humanity faced certain defeat against an invading alien force with technology and firepower superior to anything Earth can summon, Gray threw in his lot with the artificial intelligence known as Konstantin—but the gamble didn’t pay off, and now he’s become a bystander to humanity’s last stand. At least until the second part of Konstantin’s plan kicks in, and Gray suddenly finds himself tapped to travel to the distant star Deneb, where he’ll use the use the advanced AI Bright Light’s help to contact another alien race—and perhaps find a way to stave off disaster for the human race.

N.K. Jemisin solidified her place as one of the most important SFF writers of the 21st century with her third consecutive Hugo win for The Stone Sky earlier this year. With her next novel still a year away, it’s a perfect time to explore the true breadth of her talent, which comes through to grand effect in her first collection of short fiction. The highlight is the Hugo-nominated ‛The City Born Great,” the biography of a living city and the basis for the aforementioned next book, but there is much more to savor in these 22 tales. Jemisin is an essential voice in modern-day SFF; she writes both as a fan—her story “The Ones Who Stay and Fight,” for example, was penned as a direct response to Ursula K. Le Guin’s classic “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”—and for fans—there’s a new story here set within the universe of the Broken Earth trilogy. Essential.

John Hornor Jacobs delivers the third and concluding book in his Incorruptibles trilogy, an under-the-radar gem that deserves discovery by many more readers. Shoe and Fisk, mercenaries in a world that combines fantasy, ancient Rome, and the Wild West, find themselves dealing with an emperor sliding into insanity; an invasion by an overwhelming enemy force; and Livia Cornelius, highborn lady of Rume and mother of Fisk’s child—who he has never seen. Fisk is determined to find his way to them, even if it means crossing battlefields and front lines. We’re mystified as to why these books haven’t caught on—Chuck Wendig brilliant billed them as The Lord of the Rings meets The Gunslinger, a description as accurate as it is irresistible—but hopefully that will change now that you can binge them all, one after another.

For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

Terry Brooks has been buried deep in the universe of Shannara for so long, it’s big news when he publishes something outside of that series. The fact that he would choose to write a sci-fi novel might seem strange for someone so linked to epic fantasy, but then again, under the fantasy trappings, Shannara is a secret sci-fi setting of sorts. Here, Brooks imagines a futuristic world where robots enforce the law and adults twist their children with technology to the point where they’re no longer considered human. Ash Collins receives a warning from his scientist father moments before his apartment is raided and flees to the Red Zone where the Street Freaks work on their sleek rides and sharpen their hacking skills. This is a crisply written dystopian thriller from an old master.

Estep, best known for her wildly popular urban fantasies like the Elemental Assassin series, branches out into epic fantasy with the first of a new series set in a world where your social value is determined by your magical ability. Since Lady Everleigh of Bellona is not only 17th in line for the royal throne, but shows absolutely no magical ability whatsoever, she’s regarded as a non-entity, ignored and largely forgotten. Unfortunately for her, when her cousin Vasilia stages a violent coup and seizes the throne, she does not forget Evie, who only survives because her magical gift is actually an immunity to magic. Joining a gladiator troupe to escape the palace and hide from Vasilia’s spies, Evie trains as a warrior and prepares for the day when she can exact her revenge and kill the queen. Estep brings many urban fantasy touches to this story, giving it a modern edge that sets it apart in a crowded genre.

Charlaine Harris made her name with the Sookie Stackhouse stories that were the basis for HBO’s True Blood, and followed that up with the Midnight, Texas trilogy, which also birthed a TV show. Now, she launches a whole new series about another kick-butt lady, and it seems a safe bet this one will eventually make it to the screen too. Lizbeth “Gunnie” Rose is a bodyguard and gunslinger in an alternate America shattered by the assassination of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, wracked by poverty, and infused by magic—though magic is generally distrusted and discouraged. After Gunnie’s team is wiped out in a job gone bad, she’s desperate enough to take work from a pair of Russian wizards searching for one of their own, Oleg Karkarov, who might be a descendant of Grigori Rasputin himself, and thus the key to the tsar’s survival. It quickly becomes apparent to Gunnie that this will be her hardest job yet, but Harris makes it go down easy, bringing together a fiesty lead, strong worldbuilding, and fast-paced plotting.

It’s difficult to live up to the label “Renaissance woman,” but S.L. Huang certainly seems qualified to do so: she has been a professional stuntwoman and weapons expert, she holds a degree from MIT, and, oh yeah, she’s written a great debut sci-fi novel. Zero Sum Game follows Cass Russell, a math genius whose ability to calculate aides her like a superpower in her mercenary work. Cass is used to thinking circles around everyone—until she discovers someone who can literally control minds. Her first instinct is to steer clear of bad odds, but she’s haunted by the possibility that her thoughts are no longer her own. Huang brings excess verisimilitude to the story, effortlessly selling the idea of a kick-butt math genius—because she basically is a kick-butt math genius.

Tobias is a Walker, gifted with the ability to travel through time, to the detriment of his own lifespan. Trained by the Academy of Travelers, he awaits the day he’ll be given a contract to work for one of the many royal courts. But his appointment to the Sovereign of the kingdom of Daerjen comes at a cost: a mission that will send him on a near-fatal walk 15 years into the past to avert a war that threatens to consume the world. Fearing a loss, the opposing side likewise sends a crew of military travelers back to wipe Tobias and the Sovereign off the face of the earth. Meanwhile, in a totalitarian future created by both sides’ meddling, Mara, Tobias’ former childhood friend, senses something is off about the world around her and sets out with the aid of a time demon to save history, and possibly the world. Jackson (who also writes as D.B. Coe) begins a series that imaginatively blends time travel tropes with a flintlock fantasy setting.

Across seven previous novels, Maresca has created a fantastic character in the city of Maradaine, the setting for three linked series exploring all walks of life in his imagined metropolis. To these, and a fourth: this is the first book of the Maradine Elite, following the highly trained group of warriors that once stood in defense of the common people, but are now generally regarded as a symbolic power. Dayne Heldrin dreamed for years of becoming one of the Elite Orders of Druthal, but after a failed rescue, his future with the order is in doubt. Meanwhile, his beloved city is in turmoil, with violence and revolution in the air. In one fast-paced, funny, highly readable novel after another, Maresca continues to build out every nook and alleyway of Maradaine, which is fast becoming one of the most richly detailed settings in fantasy.

When Anne McCaffery passed away in 2011, it seemed to signal the end of the beloved Dragonriders of Pern series, but now, her daughter Gigi—who collaborated with her mother on several writing projects—is keeping the legacy alive with a new adventure on the world of Pern. Released to honor the 50th anniversary of Dragonflight, this story focuses on Piemur, a journeyman harper who is grieving over the impact growing up has had on his beautiful voice. The Masterharper sees something in the young man, however, and sends him on a mission to the exiled Oldtimers—the dragonriders who came from the past to save Pern from the Thread and found it impossible to adjust to their new lives. Bitter and angry, the Oldtimers live apart, but when Piemur arrives in their midst, he discovers clues that hint at a coming threat worse even than the Thread—the possibility of war between the dragons. Though there will never be another Anne McCaffrey, Gigi does her mother’s creation proud.

McLean (Drake) begins a new grimdark fantasy series that promises to be bloody good fun. Tomas Piety was once a crime lord in the city of Ellinburgh, but he found religion and went off to fight for god, forming a company known as the Pious Men. When he returns to Ellinburgh, he finds everything changed—his people are ruined, and a foreign power runs the city, and he and the Pious Men have their work cut out for them if they want to reclaim what was once his. McLean studies martial arts (and magic!) and brings that expertise to his fights scenes; those visceral affairs are but one highlight of this fantasy take on The Godfather, which also features punchy prose and a likable crew of gruff fighting companions.

Weber’s long-running Honor Harrington series is often described as “Horatio Hornblower in space,” and that’s high praise indeed. Aside from the obvious military inspirations, Weber has also infused his series with the sort of realistic character development over time that made the Hornblower stories (as well as Weber’s other obvious inspiration, O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series) so beloved. Over almost 20 novels, Honor has slowly evolved from the brilliant but inexperienced junior officer to the highest levels of command in the Star Kingdom of Manticore’s fleet. In this installment, the first in five years, the Solarian League is sliding towards unthinkable defeat as technological stagnation and widespread corruption leech the empire of its strength, and Harrington must proceed cautiously in order to avoid atrocities and the law of unexpected consequences. But when the desperate League resorts to brutal, unthinkable tactics, Harrington is pushed until she breaks—and decides to show the League and its ruling Mandarins just how horrible war can be.

Wells has been a beloved but under-read voice in fantasy for two decades, which is why it is so gratifying to see the success she’s having with the bestselling, and now, Hugo- and Nebula-winning Murderbot Diaries novella series, which follow a rogue Security Unit cyborg that has hacked its governor module and gained sentience and free will—and given itself the (mostly ironic) name Murderbot. This fourth and final novella (a full-length novel arrives next year) finds Murderbot close to getting the goods on the evil corporation GrayCris. When it learns that its former owner/possible friend Dr. Mensch is under threat, Murderbot doesn’t understand its own urge to save him. Wells’ explorations of free will and the question of what, exactly, makes us human remain fascinating, and the snarky narrative voice—and the murder-y mayhem—that peppers the story as it marches toward to a bracing conclusion are as fun as always.

You’d think alchemically combining science fiction and fantasy tropes would be too big a challenge for a debut author, but Shaun Barger asks you to politely hold his beer. This first novel is set in the 22nd century, a hundred years after an insane mage engineered a magical-nuclear holocaust, killing all humans. Mages have survived behind magical Veils that protect them from the ravaged world outside. Young Nikolai is tasked with helping maintain the Veils, but is obsessed with the vanished world that was, indulging in Ready Player One-esque hunts for 20th century pop culture. When he discovers on one of his jaunts that humanity not only survived, but remains locked in a bloody war with powerful AIs called Synths, his faith in his world crumbles. When he meets Jem, a technologically augmented former ballerina turned Runner for the fading human resistance, he knows he’ll have to choose a side—and accept the consequences. The publisher calls this one “Harry Potter meets the Terminator,” and we’re inclined to agree; there’s a lot going on here, but it’s all great fun to puzzle out.

Rivera made a splash last year with her richly romantic debut The Tiger’s Daughter, an epic fantasy story inspired by Asian cultures and told using a variety of narrative techniques, including epistolary narration and second-person sequences that feel like the stuff of role-playing games. The second book in the Their Bright Ascendancy series continues the story of a worldwide empire that’s crumbling into chaos, beset by monsters creeping from the dark edges—and the two very different young women who find themselves bound together by love and destiny. As the sequel opens, Shefali and Shizuka have been apart for eight years, but are still bound to each other. As the demonic invasion gathers force, however, they struggle to find trust again, as Rivera dives deep into character exploration, worldbuilding, and lore, and trusts her readers to keep up.

Wagers’ woman-led space operas offer a perfect blend of political intrigue and realistically-conveyed action. There Before the Chaos kicks off a sequel series to her popular trilogy The Indranan War, which detailed the rise of Hailimi “Hail” Bristol from self-exiled gunrunner to empress of the Indranan Empire, and her battles against enemies both obvious and hidden. Having saved her family’s empire, Hail’s concerns now turn outward, as one of the empire’s oldest allies, the Farians, march to war against another power, with potential consequences that are disastrous for the Indranans. Kick-butt women, space battles, complex relationships, and fiendish plots abound.

Khan has made a dramatic shift from crime fiction to fantasy with the Khorasan Archives series, set in a world where a male-dominated regime called the Talisman seeks to enslave women and hold the world in ignorant thrall. In the first book, the all-female Companions of Hira banded together to seek the the titular Bloodprint, a powerful text that holds the power to destroy the Talisman—but in the end, they failed. As volume two opens, they are scattered, in danger, and being tortured by their foes. But hope survives because the Bloodprint still exists, and the Companions have learned where it is being held. Khan draws on her Muslim heritage and Middle Eastern history to root her dark fantasy in distressingly believable realities, and avoids the middle book slump by ramping up complex plot twists, character betrayals, and other surprises with a crime-writer’s aplomb.

This has been a year of debuts for Larson, a short fiction wunderkind who has had more than 100 stories published in just about every major SFF market, from Asimov’s to Tor.com. His debut novel, Annex, dropped in July, and now arrives his debut collection, loaded with twenty-three stories that make a case for his reputation as one of the most promising young writers in genre today. Across straightforward short fiction, flash, and even verse, Larson explores possible futures and alternate universes, putting an inventive spin on tried-and-true tropes and exploring new ideas all his own. The stories collected here have appeared in eight different “Best of the Year” anthologies; opener “All That Robot Shit,” voted the best short story of 2016 in an Asimov’s reader poll, is a great starting point.

Scalzi’s second novel of 2018, after Head On, is another sequel, this one the follow-up to his space opera The Collapsing Empire. This volume dips into Dune-esque politics as the Wu family, rulers of the interstellar empire known as the Interdependency, battle scheming enemies at court who don’t believe the Flow—the natural phenomenon that allows instant travel between vast distances—is truly collapsing. This apocalyptic event would destroy human civilization, but the desperate Emperox Grayland II finds all her efforts to stave off disaster frustrated. Scalzi loads this one up with space battles and skulduggery, and sets it within a deeply imagined, all-too-relevant universe, reminding us in the bargain why he’s among sci-fi’s most popular, most reliable working writers.

Stearns introduced Adda Karpe and Iridian Nassir last year in her tense locked space station thriller debut Barbary Station, quickly establishing them among sci-fi’s most endearing and admirably capable queer couples. Having defeated an insane AI and earned their place as part of pirate Captain Sloane’s legendary space pirate crew, they’re off to Sloane’s home of Vesta to start raking in the ill-gotten gains. Unfortunately, the universe laughs while engineers-turned-pirates make plans, and Adda and Iridian soon find themselves less free than when they were fighting for their lives on Barbary Station. Stearns brings together thrilling action and twisty, heist-centric plotting for a second volume even stronger than the first.

Return to the first volume of Brown’s revolutionary space opera trilogy with this special edition reissue of his bestselling debut. The Red Rising series has taken on the status of new genre classic, telling the story of a color-coded solar empire modeled on ancient Roman swagger and built on ruthless genetic manipulation. In this series-opener, Darrow, a laboring Red on Mars, grows weary of people treated like a tool to be used and thrown away by the ruthless, ruling Golds. Pulled into a vast conspiracy, he undergoes painful surgeries in order to pass as one of the aristocratic elites, and takes place in a deadly sort of gladiatorial games; winning them will position him to increase his status and take down the system from the inside. This exclusive B&N edition features an alternate cover and full-color endpapers, as well as a new preface by the author.

Twenty years and five sequels ago, Kristen Britain launched a beloved epic fantasy series with The Green Rider, following the titular central heroes in a sort of postal service/spy network.The series draws on her own history as a former ranger with the National Parks service and her current life in the desert—as someone who has spent her life out in nature, her descriptions of her fantasy world feel rich and vibrant. The central heroes of the story, the Green Riders themselves, are a sort of combination of postal workers and spies. To celebrate the two-decade milestone (and ease the wait for the next full-length volume), Britain offers up the titular novella—featuring series faves the Berry Sisters—and two additional short stories, each featuring illustrations she created herself. It’s a must for fans.

Under a variety of pen names, Cameron has written extensively in historical fiction and epic fantasy, including, most recently, the expansive Traitor Son Cycle. He credits the remarkable levels of verisimilitude he’s able to bring to these stories to his military service, his training as a historian, and his enthusiasm for historical reenactments, which force him to learn how to recreate the past and give him insight into how people interacted, dressed, and lived in ancient times. His new series, Masters & Mages, kicks off with Cold Iron, telling the story of a talented young mage named Arnathur, who finds himself compelled to train under a legendary sword master after revealing his surprising skill with a blade and begins questioning that path even as he’s drawn into the intrigue surrounding a growing revolt. Cameron brings an intimate knowledge of history and warfare to a remarkably complex, real-feeling work of epic fantasy.

With the Breath of Earth series, set in an alternate San Francisco that’s part of a Japan-USA super empire known as the United Pacific, and taking place before, during, and after the great earthquake of 1906, Cato has created a genre unto itself—one combining elements of historical fiction, alternate history, steampunk, and urban fantasy. In this concluding volume, a weakened but defiant geomancer named Ingrid Carmichael (whose father was discovered to have magically caused the earthquake in the first place) flees to Hawaii to seek out her roots and evade the insane grasp of Ambassador Blum, who wants to use her power to further her own nefarious ends. Cato’s historically grounded worldbuilding and fierce protagonist have made this series a highlight of the past three years; we’re sorry to see this series reach its ending—but what a climactic ending it is.

Sci-fi fans might best know Jodorowsky as the man who utterly failed to get a 14-hour film version of Dune into production, but his career encompasses much more than that legendary debacle. He’s also written for comics and penned novels, and now, publisher Restless Books is translating some of his fantasy-autobiographical books into English for the first time. The Son of Black Thursday tells the story of Jodorowsky’s family’s move from Ukraine to Chile, and his early life there—but adds into the mix a healthy dose of surrealism and the sort of sci-fi flourishes that have always characterized his work. It’s not so much a memoir as a science fiction version of Jodorowsky’s epic life.

Earlier this year, a whole new audience was introduced to Morgan’s work via the Netflix adaptation of his debut, Altered Carbon, meaning the timing is perfect for this new story from the English writer. Thin Air is more of what Morgan does best: dark, gritty sci-fi noir. In the future, Mars has become a battleground for ruthless forces back on Earth, even as a native independence movement gains steam among the red planet’s permanent residents. Hakan Veil is a professional enforcer with body tech that makes him deadly, but he’s tired of being the heavy on Mars, and just wants to back to a planet with a breathable atmosphere. In classic noir tradition, he gets his chance via one last mission: protecting a visiting investigator for the Earth Oversight organization. The ensuing events threaten not just the balance of power on Mars, but the lives of Veil and his client; as Morgan’s regular readers will expect, things are going to get bloody fast.

Robinson leaves the waterlogged Big Apple of New York 2140 to explore humanity’s future off-planet in Red Moon, as a political conspiracy unfolds on Earth’s satellite in a novel that harkens back to his landmark Mars trilogy. In the near future, the moon has been colonized by both the United States and China. The uneasy peace between the two countries is threatened when American Fred Fredericks is somehow involved in the poisoning of Governor Chang of the Chinese colony. Fredericks finds himself fighting for his life as he and an illegally pregnant Chinese woman named Qi race to return to Earth. As always, Robinson employs careful research and exacting worldbuilding as he traces current events into an entirely plausible future—it’s a novel that considers, among many other things, what role blockchain might play in our lunar colonial future.

Rowland’s major debut (she self-published the novel In the End in 2012) is a story about stories. Chant, a member of an order of wandering storytellers, finds himself arrested on baffling charges of espionage in the realm of Nuryevet, a country run by five elected rulers. A Conspiracy of Truths has a bifurcated tone: half-comic in the exaggerated grandiloquence of Chant’s stories and self-regard, and maybe more than half-tragic in the events that inevitably unfold. Our narrator knows the power of stories, and his weaving of them from the depths of his incarceration ends up being the seismic event that shakes the very foundations of Nuryevet.

With The Traitor Baru Cormorant, Dickinson showed an impressive talent for executing an epic fantasy rich in worldbuilding, complex in character, and brutally exacting in its clockwork plotting. Baru Cormorant rose off the page as one of the most flawed, fascinating characters to come out of fantasy in a long time, her incandescent rage and patient desire for revenge but a few of her visceral qualities. In the first book, she survived the destruction of her culture and death of her loved ones at the hands of the Empire of Masks and feigned obedience in order to rise within its ranks and orchestrate its epic downfall from the inside. As The Monster Baru Cormorant opens, she finds herself, finally, a powerful member of the empire she’s vowed to destroy, yet psychically damaged by the effort it took to get there, to the point that she can no longer trust her own motivations. With this second of a planned four-volume epic, Dickinson has done something incredible by deepening our understanding of a fabulously complex, compelling character.

As he did with Welcome to Night Vale and It Devours!, in Alice Isn’t Dead, Joseph Fink transforms one of his popular podcasts into a novel. (The same-titled show, which completed its third and final season in 2018, is also being developed for television.) The story follows Keisha, a long-haul truck driver on a cross-country search for clues regarding her missing wife, who she refuses to believe is actually dead. The journey leads her into a complex web of dark conspiracies and stomach-churning terror. Fink was inspired by his experiences living in and out of his van while driving around the country performing live episodes of Welcome to Night Vale; taken as a travelogue of these weird United States, it’s by turns haunting, touching, and downright terrifying, with a particularly memorable villain—a slouching bag of distended flesh known as the Hungry Man—who will stalk your nightmares.

Harvard-grad Lee has published three novels and several short stories, earning a reputation as one of the smartest young SFF writers out there. His first non-fiction work focuses on the Golden Age of Science Fiction, a period roughly between 1935 and 1950, when John W. Campbell and Astounding Science Fiction seemed to single-handedly define—and regularly redefine—the genre, with the able assistance of three of the era’s most important writers: Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and L. Ron Hubbard (yes, that L. Ron Hubbard). In this history-cum-narrative, Lee examines what made Campbell and his writers so important, and doesn’t flinch away from these icons’ later wanderings into the fringe. The end result is a welcome analysis of one of the most significant periods in science fiction’s history, explored by a talented writer with a clear love for the genre.

Star Wars is no latecomer to gender equality, slave Leia costume notwithstanding. From the very first film, the galaxy’s women (well, woman, anyway) have played key roles in the story, and it’s high time that legacy is celebrated. Seventy-five of the most important and consequential female characters of the galaxy far, far away are profiled in this volume, including Leia Organa, Rey, Ahsoka Tano, Jyn Erso, and many more. Rare backstory, relevant biographical details, and key moments in the saga’s ever-expanding story are featured alongside more than 100 illustrations that bring these women to vibrant life. Amy Ratcliffe, managing editor of Nerdist and a Star Wars superfan (she cohosts not one but two Star Wars podcasts, Full of Sith and Lattes with Leia) pens the character profiles, guaranteeing that this resource volume is both faithful to continuity, and fun to read.

Over the course of eight novels and three novelettes, computer scientist and author Stross’s Laundry Files series has brought together many, many elements that just shouldn’t go—namely Lovecraftian horrors, bleak office humor, spy thrillers, and plain old sci-fi—to create one of the most amusing, intricate sci-fi horror series running. In this latest entry, he ups the ante by mixing Elder Gods, Nazgûl, vampires, and yet more frustrating bureaucracy into the mix as head of the Lords Select Committee on Sanguinary Affairs, Mhairi Murphey, struggles to deal with her awful boss while searching for the missing American President—who no one in the U.S. seems to care about, or even remember. Once again, Stross manages to tell a fantastic story rife with dark humor, political satire, and plain, old-fashioned fun.

Nebula-winning Yolen has written hundreds of books and long ago achieved legendary status, but instead of coasting, she continues to challenge herself and her readers. Finding Baba Yaga is not only written in delightful, modern verse, and not only takes inspiration from an old Russian fairy tale, it is also a subtle, powerful take on the #MeToo movement. Natasha flees her abusive, unhappy home and comes across a hut that moves under its own power, walking on chicken legs. She’s taken in by legendary witch Baba Yaga, and carves out a wholly unexpected life for herself that begins with her finding her own voice, and ends with her using her voice to make things happen.

Weighing in at over five pounds and extending to nearly 1,000 pages, this is the definitive single-volume collection of all of Ursula K. Le Guin’s novels, stories, and essays concerning the magical island nations of Earthsea. Working in close collaboration with the author, illustrator Charles Vess presents a slightly whimsical new vision of this fantasy realm—its people finally depicted dark skin, as in the text; his dragons, pure magic. The real treat for fans: a new short story, published in the Paris Review just months after Le Guin’s death, gives us the author’s true final words on Earthsea.

For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

The complexity of the universe spawned by the Halo video game franchise rivals any other in the speculative genres. Telling the story of a galaxy-spanning war between humanity and a coalition of aliens called The Covenant who worship an extinct race known as the Forerunners who were destroyed by a horrifying symbiotic parasite called The Flood. And that’s just the basics—over the course of several games, graphic novels, books, comics, and animated shorts the story and universe have become incredibly detailed and rich. This all-new standalone novel is by Halo-veteran Troy Denning, who’s also written book in the Star Wars universe; Denning got his start in video games so he’s got a natural touch for the Halo universe. Early in the war between humanity and the Covenant, mankind has pinned its hopes on the Spartans—super-soldiers trained to be the perfect warriors, and led by John-117, who will one day be the key hero in the Halo story. As the future Master Sergeant leads his team on a desperate mission to buy humanity some time, a group of traitors think making a deal with the Covenant to betray John-117 is the only way to survive.

Fenn is as known for her short fiction as she is for her Hidden Empire novel series—and for her tendency to take stories in unexpected directions, whether on the micro-scale in short stories or the macro-scale of novels. Hidden Sun Fenn kicks off an all new series set in a universe of shadowlands and bright alien skylands. Rhia Harlyn is a well-born woman in the shadowland Shen, struggling against old-fashioned sexism as she pursues scientific knowledge. She gets a tragic opportunity to use his skill for research and discovery after her brother vanishes. She sets off to the skylands to seek the truth behind his disappearance and finds herself caught between a rebel and a cult leader on an alluring, dangerous world.

Since 2008, sci-fi and fantasy fans have known Tor.com as one of the best sources for cutting-edge short fiction; publishing original stories weekly, to the tune of hundreds over the course of the decade, the site has featured acclaimed writers the likes of N.K. Jemisin, Ken Liu, Charlie Jane Anders, and Jeff VanderMeer. This anthology, painstakingly edited by Tor mainstay Irene Gallo (who, as art director for Tor, commissioned illustrations for every one of them—and thus has read everything the site has ever published), collects the best of the best. It’s a startling reminder of just how good their taste is, and how influential the site has become. Stories include new classics like Hugo-winner ‛The Lady Astronaut of Mars” by Mary Robinette Kowal (since expanded into a series of novels), Alyssa Wong’s “A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers,” and the time-tripping, bittersweet romantic comedy of Charlie Jane Anders’ “Six Months, Three Days.” This is unquestionably one of the year’s essential anthologies, and a must for any reader interested in exploring sci-fi and fantasy’s universes in miniature.

Grigsby, who when he isn’t writing works as a firefighter in Arkansas, has already given us one action movie in book form this year in Smoke Eaters, set in a world where the sudden arrival of dragons transforms firefighters into humanity’s first line of defense. Showing his range, his followup is a sci-fi saga that marries the thrills of Escape from New York with the righteous anger of Bitch Planet. In a deep space penal colony populated by the worst of the worst, a delicate peace exists between the titular lightcycle-riding prison gang and its two rivals, until the balance is upset by the arrivals of a fresh batch of prisoners, supplies to fight over—and a baby. Meanwhile, forces on Earth are looking for any excuse to blast the prison out of space for once and for all.

That Hamilton remains under the radar of many sci-fi readers (particularly in the U.S.) is a crime; not only has he consistently offered up amazing science fictional concepts, he’s packed them into character-focused epics with the sprawl to rival Dickens. In his newest, which stands alone from his earlier series, is set in the 23rd century, by which time humanity has achieved a complacent sort of ascendancy, managing a far-flung interstellar empire via networked “jump gates” that allow for instantaneous travel to anywhere. The cargo on a crashed spacecraft found on a newly discovered planet, however, threatens to fatally undermine that hegemony. Paralleling that story is taking place in the 51st century, where an ancient enemy pursues the genocide of the human race and a team of genetically altered soldiers prepare to face it. Per usual for Hamilton, the ideas as invigorating as the plot, which earns the epic page count.

Fresh off the success of the Hugo- and Nebula-nominated Six Wakes, Mur Lafferty takes a break from her original stories and award-winning podcasting to dive into the ever-expanding Star Wars universe with this “expanded” novelization of this year’s woefully underrated saga spinoff. Going back to a time before A New Hope, Lafferty introduces the young scoundrel Han Solo before he’s acquired the famed ship the Millennium Falcon, his stalwart co-pilot Chewbacca, or his charming frenemy Lando Calrissian to show us how he bumped up against all three on his way to becoming a legend. This is no by-the-numbers tie-in, expanding upon the story in sequences not featured in the finished film. The Barnes and Noble exclusive edition includes a cool double-sided poster you won’t find anywhere else in the galaxy.

The prolific McGuire offers up the 12th October Daye novel (following The Brightest Fell), which finds the half-fae, half-human private investigator (Toby to her friends) dealing with a fraying relationship with her fiancé after she learns her daughter Gillian has been kidnapped. The twisting chase that follows shows why this series has become a mainstay in urban fantasy genre—McGuire balances emotional depth and character development with inventive worldbuilding that rewards old fans with subtle callbacks.

The dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden was introduced three decades ago as a character in a media tie-in novel, and improbably grew to become one of the most popular characters in epic fantasy. Salvatore, author of more than forty novels, created Drizzt for TSR’s Forgotten Realms series, part of the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing milieu, but the character has moved beyond his tabletop gaming roots, and this novel in particular offers a fresh start for both longtime fans and new readers. Surprisingly, Timeless marks the first time Salvatore has explored the Drizzt’s origin story. Return to the world of Manzoberranzan with the Barnes & Noble exclusive edition, which includes a short story showing how Drizzt, Zaknafein, and Jarlaxle became legendary warriors.

Tim Pratt has won or been nominated for a long list of sci-fi and fantasy awards, including the Locus, Nebula, and Hugo. His own stories have been heavily anthologized, and he’s an accomplished editor for Locus Magazine. His latest project, the engaging, inclusive, and entertaining Axiom series, may be his best work yet. The second book in the witty, heartfelt sci-fi romp, The Dreaming Stars (following last year’s Philip K. Dick Award-nominated The Wrong Stars), returns to the misfit crew of the White Raven, who are called upon to deal with a swarm of nanoparticles transforming everything it encounters—including hapless colonists. The investigation leads the crew to a facility created and occupied by the long-slumbering alien race known as the Axiom, who will undoubtedly destroy humanity whenever they decide to awaken. Pratt’s loveably screwed-up characters face tough choices in this fun, fast-paced adventure.

Sullivan is one of those writers who remains under the radar despite winning critical acclaim (and an Arthur C. Clarke award—for 1999’s Dreaming in Smoke). Occupy Me, which comes to the U.S. after being published in the U.K. in 2016, shows her deserving of more attention. It’s one of those books that defies expectations and runs over with imagination. It’s the story of Pearl, a woman who works for the Resistance, a group that intends to make the world a better place simply by performing acts of kindness on a regular basis. But Pearl is more than just a do-gooder; found in a junkyard, her origins are mysterious—as are the angelic wings that she sprouts when under stress, and the incredible reality-bending powers she sometimes exhibits. When Pearl encounters a killer bearing a suitcase that’s really a hole in the universe, she gives chase, not knowing what she’ll encounter—or learn about herself—along the way.

Williams’ kicks off a new story in the universe of his Dread Empire’s Fall trilogy, in which the extinction of the galaxy-conquering alien race known as the Shaa set off a violent civil war as the client species fought for supremacy. The Accidental War picks up years after the defeat of the principle villains in that conflict, the Naxids, and finds Terran officers Captain Gareth Martinez and Captain the Lady Sula sidelined due to their contempt for the traditions of the military elites, forced to funnel their enthusiasm for battle toward more peaceful pursuits. But the commonwealth that emerged from the ashes of the Shaa Empire is fragile, and hatred of Terrans spurs a conspiracy to recall all the human fleet crews and frame them for mutiny—prompting Gareth and Sula to gather loyal officers and set out for the last Terran stronghold. Williams specializes in patient plotting, building slowly toward a satisfying, action-packed finale.

It’s been nearly two decades since the last Black Company novel, making Cook’s latest a long overdue treat for fans of grimdark fantasy. The Black Company, an elite mercenary unit and the last of the Free Companies, follows a principle of getting paid, and not asking questions. The series is focused on a brief period of their centuries-long history, as detailed by company historian Croaker. In Port of Shadows, the Company is in service to the sorceress known as the Lady, but their new posting seems a little too uneventful. When they’re tasked with capturing a rebel leader, they’re surprised to find she is a young woman—and then, everything changes: memories become unreliable, members of the company suffer strange hallucinations, and a traitor seems to be working in their midst. This is both a fine way to introduce yourself to the Black Company, and a treat for long time fans of the series.

It’s hard to believe Cole has the time to write books; after a career in the military and intelligence services, he worked on the reality show Hunted on CBS and consults for the NYPD. His experience shows in his writing; his depictions of military life and tactics have the gritty ring of truth. The Queen of Crows, which follows last year’s The Armored Saint, is set in a world where the knights of The Order, religious zealots, hunt down wizards in hiding, often massacring anyone who gets in their way in the meantime. Heloise was a poor village girl who dared to stand up to the Order, and acquired magical armor that transformed her into a ferocious warrior. The Queen of Crows finds her transformed into a leader—but her revolution has a long way to go.

Hanover puts a contemporary spin on beloved portal fantasy tropes, telling the story of Tessa Andrews, a bitter young woman still reeling from the disappearance of her gambler father. When her neighbor Professor Brandard’s house burns down, though, he is reborn into a younger body, and soon reveals to Tessa that he’s a phoenix wizard, and he needs her help to regain his powers before a terrible evil descends—a malevolent entity that might have something to do with her father’s disappearance.

Fully updated to include the most recent films, this compendium of all things from a galaxy far, far away is unparalleled in its detail. Exploring everything from ship schematics, to the subtle meanings hidden in Queen Amidala’s costumes, to the inner-workings of Darth Vader’s armor, it also goes beyond the hardware to explore the backstories of both major and minor characters. The authors have serious cred; Hildalgo’s been serving as a story consultant for the franchise since 1995, and Reynolds, who holds a doctorate in archeology, has written five other deep-dive Star Wars books.

North, a regular comics’ writer and the author of a pair of pick-your-path novels based on Shakespeare, knows a lot of stuff, and in this ingenious book, styled as a user’s manual for time travelers, he puts all of it to good use. Exploring everything from numbers, to language, to the importance of domesticating animals in punchy, bite-sized entries, it is styled as the only book you’ll ever need, should you be transported hundreds of thousands of years into the past and tasked with recreating civilization. Imagine an enormously entertaining science textbook disguised as a roguish sci-fi guidebook. It will appeal equally to creative types looking to see the world in a different light and to those who just like learning about why things work the way they do.

Older brings real-world experience to her fiction; she’s served as a humanitarian worker and her academic work is focused on how governments respond to disasters. The Centenal Cycle is set in a future where the entire world’s population has been divided into groups of 100,000, known as centenals. Each centenal votes for the government it wants to belong to, ranging from the corporate-minded to the idealistic—but the system isn’t as democratic nor fair as it’s promised to be. In the final book in the trilogy, the monolithic surveillance state Information finds itself and the elections it oversees under a myriad of new attacks as another election approaches, leading the major players to wonder the same thing—can Information be defended, and more importantly, does it deserve to be?

Sanderson is famous for lengthy, meticulously detailed fantasy series like Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive, but over the years he’s also been quietly publishing sci-fi novellas featuring the character of Stephen Leeds, a man who can learn anything and master any skill in a matter of hours by creating a separate personality in his head. Leeds calls these personalities ‛Aspects,’ and he’s gotten to the point where there are almost too many of them fighting for space in his brain. This book collects the previously published Leeds novellas—Legion and Legion: Skin Deep—as well as a new, concluding novella, Lies of the Beholder, which offers a glimpse into Stephen’s origins as he’s hired to recover a stolen camera that reportedly takes photos of the past. Signed copies are available from Barnes & Noble, while they last.

Thompson’s novel-length debut, published last year in ebook but now out in print from Orbit, is set in the near future, in the wake of Earth’s settlement by alien visitors, who have constructed a huge biodome in Nigeria. The newcomers are rumored to have healing powers, and the sick and suffering gather around the biodome, forming the city of Rose Water around it. Thompson, whose sci-fi/horror novella The Murders of Molly Southbourne was released last year to significant acclaim, was born in London to Yoruba parents, and brings a unique worldview to a story that runs the disparate threads of those disparate cultures through a sci-fi idea machine. The result combines a sprawling timeline, engaging speculative concepts, and aspects of old-school detective fiction to craft one of the most unique books of the year.

Tieryas follows up and expands on his 2016 novel United States of Japan, an alternate history story set in a world where the Axis Powers won World War II and Japan has occupied the U.S. The first book—in which an underground video game featuring giant battling mecha, distributed by a rebel group called the George Washingtons, urged Americans to question the official history of Japan’s noble victory—moved much like a detective novel. The sequel spins a different sort of story set in the same universe, focusing on young Makoto “Mac” Fujimoto, a war orphan who wants to be a mecha pilot—but just as he sits for the exams that will determine his future, a terrorist attack by the National Revolutionaries of America kills his best friend, setting Mac on a darker path. Even more so than its excellent predecessor, Mecha Samurai Empire fulfills the promise of a book with a giant robot on the cover.

Weeks’ debut novel The Way of Shadows was an instant hit when published in 2008, launching the career of one of fantasy’s best modern writers. This special 10-year anniversary edition collects all the three books of the trilogy (continued in Shadow’s Edge and Beyond the Shadows) chronicling the story of an orphan named Azoth, who trains to become an expert assassin, using magic to augment his deadly capabilities, then evolves into something greater—the fearsome Night Angel. This omnibus—which features a slick, striking all-black cover—offers the perfect opportunity for longtime fans to commemorate a landmark series, and for new readers to be introduced to the author’s skill at building intricate characters and compelling worlds.

Brett’s Demon Cycle epic fantasy series, in which humanity is reduced from an advanced technological civilization to a primitive shadow of its former glory due to the nightly attacks by demons that can only be defended against through the use of fragile painted runes—was a phenomenon, selling millions of copies in dozens of languages around the globe. Sadly, it also ended last year after five novels and a host of related shorter stories. Or did it? This new novella, set in the wake of the climactic events of The Core, centers on Tibbet’s Brook’s Town Speaker, Selia, nicknamed Barren, who has used the newly-rediscovered combat wards to protect her people. But Barren’s relationship with a younger woman makes her a target of a hatred that would put the whole town at risk in order to destroy her happiness. Yet Barren is a woman used to fighting demons, and she’s not going to go down easily.

Green and his company, Complexly, have become a force in the realm of science education through content like Crash Course and Sci Show, which help people understand difficult concepts and topics. His debut novel—the next Barnes & Noble Book Club selection—surprises in its willingness to delve into the unknown and the unknowable, exploring how modern internet fame twists and chops reality and peoples’ lives via the story of twenty-something April May. When she comes across a bizarre sculpture resembling a transformer wearing samurai armor, her friend Andy records her climbing onto it and posts it to the internet. By morning, April is famous as the first to discover the statues, which have mysteriously appeared all over the world (they are eventually dubbed “Carls”). April’s life changes rapidly as she’s swept into the whirlpool of viral fame—and into the quest to discover where the Carls came from, and what they might mean.

Rossner, whose great-parents emigrated to the United States in order to escape violent anti-semitism, today lives in Israel, and she weaves a deep appreciation for Jewish folklore into her lyrical debut fantasy. Told from the alternating points-of-view of sisters Liba and Laya Leib (Liba narrates in prose, Laya in poetry), it begins when the girls’ parents must leave the sisters alone in the woods, just outside the town of Dubossary. Before they go, they reveal to the children the family secret: their father can transform into a bear, and their mother into a swan, and Liba and Laya will inherit these powers respectively. The story Rossner spins from there draws from a myriad of traditions as it explores the costs of growing up and taking on the burdens of adulthood. For readers who loved Naomi Novik’s Uprooted and Katharine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale.

Schwab’s Vicious, her adult debut, predating her breakthrough A Darker Shade of Magic, introduced Victor Vale and Eli Ever, two frenemies who figured out how to give themselves superpowers and both used them to become different sorts of villains. Victor was arrested for his crimes, but Eli was the true monster, identifying others with powers to rival his own and killing them one by one. When Eli went after young Sydney, a girl with the ability to raise the dead, he took on more than he bargained for. In the sequel, Victor is in hiding underground, recovering from his own resurrection, leaving Sydney to fend for herself alongside her dog Dol, who she’s raised from the dead three times already. Meanwhile, Eli remains at large, unpunished—and still very dangerous. The signed Barnes and Noble exclusive edition contains a short story set in Merit City and a special message from Victor Vale himself.

Nebula Award-winner Charlie Jane Anders next novel, The City in the Middle of the Night, doesn’t land until early 2019. In the meantime, she’s releasing this strange, slender story in a deluxe limited edition via small press publisher Subterranean (don’t worry if you don’t snag a print copy—it is also available as an ebook). It’s a bizarre near-future story set in the same sort of mid-apocalyptic world as All the Birds in the Sky, but the specifics of life in a climate-sick, resource-impoverished society are just part of growing up for Rock Manning and Sally Hamster, misfit teens who stumble into improbable internet stardom creating movies that highlight the former’s willingness to do violence to himself in the name of a good sight gag, a la the old slapstick comedies he adores. The worse things get for America, the more the pair are propelled to fame—and become the targets of those who want to use them to win a propaganda war for the soul of what’s left of the country.

]]>https://www.tor.com/2018/09/05/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-september-2018/feed/0Reunite with Vampire Hunters, Elephantine Aliens, and Murderbots in Barnes & Noble Booksellers Picks for Augusthttps://www.tor.com/2018/08/06/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-august-2018/
https://www.tor.com/2018/08/06/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-august-2018/#commentsMon, 06 Aug 2018 13:00:12 +0000https://www.tor.com/?p=380016For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books. The Snail on the Slope, by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky […]]]>

For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

This sci-fi classic by the Strugatsky brothers was written in the 1960s, finally published in Russia in the late 1980s, and only now translated into English. The Administration is a vast, confusing bureaucratic institution charged with studying the Forest, a likewise vast, confusing place filled with strange creatures and operating under different laws of physics and biology. In the Administration, newly-arrived Peretz wants nothing more than to study the Forest directly and seeks an appointment with the director to make his case—but can never seem to get through the Kafkaesque roadblocks to speak with him. In the Forest, pilot Candide crash-landed years ago and is desperate to return to the Administration, but must navigate the strange geography with his failing memory and unreliable senses. As they approach one another, Candide and Peretz’s worldviews each inform and alter the other’s in surprising, challenging ways.

Scarlett Winter is the rebellious daughter of a family of rich military tradition—a tradition she rejects, hard. Scarlett is also a posthuman with the paranormal ability to absorb energy and release it with devastating effect. After she acts instinctively to save the life of a senator, she’s recruited by a secret new program at West Point, Operation Signal Boost. But Scarlett’s uncomfortable in the gray of a West Point cadet, and clashes with everyone she meets. When a group of rogue post-humans known as the High Rollers, led by the powerful mind-controller Antonio Jagger, begins an ambitious plot to destroy West Point (and maybe the United States itself), it’s up to Scarlett and her fellow cadets to harness powers they barely understand and save the day. The X-Men meets Taps is this engaging mashup of sci-fi and paranormal thriller.

Nicky Drayden’s followup to the her gonzo science fantasy debut The Prey of Gods is just as delightfully out there. In an alternate African country, your vices are more than just part of your private nature—they’re what determine your status in society. With only a single vice branded on his arm, Kasim Mutz is marked for a bright future. His twin brother Auben, however, has six vices on display, dooming him to a much darker fate. Auben is smart, mischievous, and charming—and jealous of his brother’s prospects. as Auben begins hearing a demonic voice instructing him to give in to his weaknesses and commit terrible crimes, he finds his self-control begin to erode, and both brothers find they will have to tame their inner demons if they’re going to save their world.

The saga of Anita Blake, vampire hunter, continues. Anita’s peer on the Marshals, Edward, is finally getting married to Donna in Mexico—assuming Donna’s cold feet and bridesmaid Dixie’s acid tongue don’t derail everything. Meanwhile, another relationship—between Anita and partners Micah and Nathaniel—is on the rocks, just as wedding guests begin to disappear from the hotel, and the celebration transforms into an old-school vampire hunt. Anita and Edward, with an assist from Bernardo and Olaf, spring into action. They’ll have to move fast to stop a corrupt police officer trying to magically pin the blame on the vulnerable Nathaniel.

Tim Powers, master of the secret history, returns with a story about strange occurrences along the highways of America. Former Secret Service agent Sebastian Vickery makes his living driving people around Los Angeles in special vehicles that protect them from the energies that flow along the freeways. After an attempt on his life in which he’s saved by Agent Ingrid Castine, he launches an investigation that leads to the discovery of an attempt to use those energies to open a rift between our world and the Labyrinth, a deadly alternate reality that is already bleeding into ours. Vickery and Castine team up to close the rift—even if it means being forced to travel into the horrifying Labyrinth themselves, and risk being trapped there.

The second book in the super grimdark Empires of Dust epic fantasy series finds Marith Altrersyr, former sellsword (and recent dead man), rampaging across the land of Irlast in his efforts to claim the throne of the White Isles. Increasingly deranged, Marith—known as King Ruin—sets his lover Thalia up as the new High Priestess of Tanis, the goddess of death (and life), as his army grows larger. Thalia is growing concerned with his epic mood swings and uncontrollable emotions, and alarmed at the brutality of his methods and the scale of his ambitions. She can sense her influence over him is fading, and worries about her own tenuous grip on sanity. There are few heroes here—only fascinating, prickly, well-drawn characters.

In the near future, a new reality show called Prison Wars features inmates battling to the death. After it’s shut down by the authorities, its creator, the wealthy Cameron Crayton, launches a new show called The Crucible, in which fighters from around the world duel to the death with a billion-dollar prize on the line. Former CIA agent Mark Wei, destroyed when his final mission cost him his family, is reactivated by his former boss, Gideon Gellar, who believes Crayton has taken secret control of the US government on behalf of the Chinese. Wei poses as a contestant on The Crucible in order to infiltrate Crayton’s world—but to get anywhere, he’ll first have to survive the show, which means he kill or be killed. A smart suspense thriller that updates The Running Man for a bleak new era.

The city of New Worth is enclosed in a dome, and society is literally stratified according to how high up you are—the wealthy sit at the top, the poor live in shadow and grime at the bottom. The rich enjoy constant connection to each other via implants that enable telepathic-style communication and other technological aids. Emergence from the dome is soon to be a possibility, but different factions fight over the idea of leaving its security behind. Emery Driscoll is a college student who finds herself blackmailed by a secretive organization called Aventine because of her rare condition that makes it possible to encode messages directly in her blood, making her an ideal secret courier. When a data drop goes sideways, Emery finds herself hunted by different factions, with the fate of the city hanging in the balance.

Walton, herself a Hugo Award winner, looks back at the early history of one of sci-fi’s most prestigious awards in this non-fiction work drawn from her popular columns originally published on Tor.com. With lists of nominees and winners as well as deep-dive essays on the most important books from each year’s slate, it’s a very personal retrospective, colored with her personal opinions on the winners and losers of each year. Input from heavy-hitters in the field, including the late Gardner Dozois and editor David G. Hartwell, comes through via republished comments from the original posts. It’s a singular, essential critical appreciation for a subset of sci-fi literature that has been pre-selected as some of the best ever written—though Walton doesn’t always agree, and is more than ready to tell you why.

The Murderbot returns, now with its memories intact but its armor stripped away. Calling itself Rin, the Murderbot is on the trail of the GrayCris Corporation as the case against the mega-corporation begins to fail and authorities start asking questions Rin would prefer they not find the answers to. Rin goes into action, inserting itself into a mission to reclaim an abandoned terraform facility somehow connected to GrayCris, an installation that may have been involved in processing alien artifacts. When things begin to go wrong with a capital “W,” Rin has few allies—unless you count the innocent Miki, a “pet robot” that might actually be more useful than it immediately appears. This is the second of three novellas in the series arriving in 2018, and there’s a novel on the way in 2019. All hail Murderbot!

Husband and wife writing team “S.K. Dunstall” (the Linesman novels) offer up a standalone space opera in the high action vein. Captain Hammond Roystan is a cargo runner who stumbles onto the salvage claim of a lifetime: the Hassim, an exploration ship that contains invaluable data about unexplored worlds. Roystan knows if he can assemble a crew and get to the drifting ship before anyone else, he’ll have it made. Putting a team together requires him to overlook some obvious deceptions—his junior engineer is filled with bioware that put the lie to her claim of a humble existence on the rim. Seems Nika Rik Terri is a body modder on the run from angry clients, and her apprentice knows more about weapons and strategy than a fledgling modder should. As the group sets out for the Hassim, they’re pursued by dangerous forces who’d love nothing more than to beat them to the score.

The latest in translation from Hugo-winner Liu, author of The Three-Body Problem, the hard sci-fi novel that became a worldwide sensation, explores the tension between research and military applications as a brilliant Chinese man, Chen, sets out to understand and control ball lightning after it kills his parents during his birthday party. He teams up with Lin Yun, a major in the army who is interested in ball lightning for its potential as a weapon. Together they chase leads that take them to an abandoned Russian research base and face to face with an eccentric scientist. Chen and Lin Yun soon come to find themselves on opposite sides of the same quest: one seeking knowledge, the other seeking to apply that knowledge to create weapons to be used in a coming conflict with America.

Lostetter’s sequel to Noumenon is another slice satisfyingly meaty, big idea sci-fi. This volume jumps between two time periods: in the past, scientists Vanhi Kapoor experiments with interstellar technologies as Earth prepares to launch exploratory missions and an accident during an experiment leaves her changed, seemingly unmoored from the laws of physics. In the far future, where exploratory vessel Convoy Seven has arrived at the star designated LQ Pyx only to discover an incomplete structure—known as the Web—built around it by an unknown and absent alien race, the ship’s crew of clones make an attempt to finish the machine and start it up. As huge spans of time elapse, we follow the human experience through the course of generations, and the purpose of the Web slowly emerges.

Neill launches a spinoff to the Chicagoland Vampires books. As the series opens, the humans and supernaturals of Chicago are enjoying a peace that has lasted 20 years. A daughter of the vampire leaders, Elilsa Sullivan, is brought back to Chicago to help with peace talks between European leaders—but when a delegate is murdered and a shape-shifter blamed, she must conquer a literal monster inside her and spearhead a desperate investigation in order to salvage peace. Determining the chief suspect was framed, she teams up with old friends from her childhood, including former irritant and current crush Connor, to prevent more bloodshed.

The second book in the Barsk series is set years after the events of the first novel. Pizlo, physically challenged and outcast elephant-like Fant, is a teenager who believes the planet’s moons are speaking to him and telling him secrets. In order to determine the truth of these mysterious messages, Pizlo goes on a quest, one that ultimately takes him off-world for the second time, and reveals to him things that none of his kind are prepared to know. Meanwhile, Senator Jorl of Barsk, who can communicate with the dead, plays a high-tension game of galactic politics as he parallels Pizlo’s quest with his own investigation into the past, revealing his own cache of terrible secrets. With a cast of uplifted animals of all stripes and unparalleled worldbuilding, this series is a sorely under-appreciated, highly original delight.

The author of the Divine Cities trilogy (a nominee for Best Series at the 2018 Hugo Awards) begins a new trilogy that’s as fun to read as its world is well-imagined. The city state of Tevanne runs on magic and pillage, as the four dominant merchant houses exploit the lands around them (not to mention the poor denizens who crounch outside their walls in a precarious shantytown known as Foundryside), as their scrivers create incredible machines and accomplish feats that look a lot like magic by way of intricate sigils that bend and break the laws of reality. Sancia Grado is a Foundryside thief who comes into possession of Clef, a sentient golden key—and is pursued by police captain Gregor Dandolo, reluctant scion of one of the richest houses. The unwitting Sancia falls into a scheme to destroy the power of the scrivers; putting a stop to it will bring her and Dandolo together as unlikely allies in the greatest theft theft in history, with the lives of everyone in Tevanne on the line.

This followup to The Calculating Stars completes a fascinating alt-history duology from the Hugo Award-winning author. In an alternate 1961, nearly a decade after a disastrous meteor strike disrupted all like on Earth, lady astronaut Elma York works as a pilot shuttling passengers between our world, roiling with terrorism and the civil rights movement, and a colony on the moon. Elma is taken hostage by terrorists who want to stop space travel, and later invited to replace one of her best friends on the first manned mission to Mars (where readers of Kowal’s related work know a colony will eventually be established). Her friend is angry, and the rest of the crew resents Elma, making the three-year journey to the Red Planet tense and unhappy—aspects only worsened when tragedy strikes en route, forcing the crew to figure out how to deal with disease and dead bodies while cut off from the rest of civilization.

Generations ago, the Justified Sect unleashed the pulse, a powerful device designed to disable and destroy all other weapons. Something went wrong, and many worlds saw all of their technology destroyed, knocking them back to the Stone Age—and giving a small percentage of their children special powers. Guilty over her role in this disaster, Jane Kamali leads a mission to locate these children to help her stopp the second pulse from sending even more planets hurtling backwards into primitive chaos. Opposing her is the Pax, a group of fanatics who retain their technological superiority. Jane must protect a powerful girl named Esa in hopes that she could be the deciding factor in this struggle in this capital SF science fiction debut.

In these three previously-published novellas, now collected into one volume, Willis demonstrates her sharp wit and storytelling genius. In Uncharted Territory, a trio of human surveyors and their indigenous scout on an alien planet have their adventures and romances turned into theater back on the home planet. In Remake, a future Hollywood no longer employs living actors, but endlessly pastes digital avatars of past stars into pastiches and remakes of old classics. And in D.A., Willis playfully tweaks Heinlein with the story about a girl forced into the International Space Academy who thinks she detects morbid clues of a conspiracy against her.

The tenth and final (!) Kate Daniels book opens with Kate in a precarious holding pattern, raising her family with former Beast Lord Curran and maintaining a delicate truce with her father Roland. When Roland begins pushing against her magical defenses, the Witch Oracle experiences bloody visions, and a mysterious box appears on her doorstep, Kate knows that peace can’t last. Soon she’s contemplating a desperate alliance as an ancient enemy, one that almost destroyed her family in the past, threatens not just Kate and her family, but all of post-Shift Atlanta.

Eames jumps back into the Band series, picking up the story six years after the events of Kings of the Wyld and shifting the focus to the daughter of one of that book’s team of grizzled adventurers. Teenage bard Tam Hashford is thrilled to be invited to join Bloody Rose, the most famous adventuring band of all, but quickly discovers the worst thing you can do is meet your idols. Bloody Rose is content to play arenas in the south rather than head north to fight more monsters, and are working towards one final show that will earn them enough money to retire in peace. When that final gig goes completely off the rails, the band must once again put aside differences and overcome their own limitations to gear up and save the world. Eames brilliant “mercenary bands as rock stars” concept is only more delightful the second time around.

Sandman Slim is back from the dead—almost. Having achieved a partial return to life, the half-human son of the angel Uriel and former ruler of Hell (for about 100 days) finds his life once again ebbing away. So when Eva Sandoval, leader of the dark Illuminati-style Wormwood—offers him a full resurrection in exchange for this particular set of skills, he has little choice but to agree. Charged with scuttling a faction of Wormwood from enacting a dangerous ritual that could blow the whole city sky-high, Sandman Slim must enlist the help of friends old and new just to survive his journey back to the land of the living.

This tie-in edition celebrating Syfy’s upcoming adaptation of Martin’s horror in space novella includes fifteen custom illustrations that augment the tale’s chilling terror. A team of nine academics are recruited for a mission to study a mysterious alien race and put on board the only ship available: the Nightflyer, an autonomous craft that requires just a single crew member. The mysterious captain shuts himself off from the scientists, communicating exclusively through holograms and voice messages. Then someone—or something—begins murdering the passengers, and the mission devolves into a gruesome fight for survival in the darkness of space. Martin is about more than just epic fantasy—this is a supremely satisfying blend of sci-fi and horror.

Ideal for superfans of the cult TV show, this travel guide offers information on various locations from the show’s mythology, from the Core planets to the Rim. There is an overview of areas you’re likely to meet Reavers, and tips on where an outlaw band might hide out from the Alliance. It’s all augmented with notes and annotations from the crew of Serenity, and illustrations, concept art, and photos from the series and movie.

The complex history Tolkien constructed to shore up The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit was incomplete and sprawling, and it’s taken his son Christopher decades to put it all together. This rejiggered volume details the story of Gondolin, the hidden city the Noldorin Elves built after they fled Valinor, the land of the gods, in rebellion. Secretly supported by Ulmo, one of the most powerful of the Valar, their king Turgon is hated above all by Morgoth, the source of all evil in Middle Earth, to whom Sauron was merely a lieutenant. Ulmo sets in motion events that will echo through the rest of Tolkien’s works, leading up to the siege of Gondolin by Morgoth’s forces and the birth of a child named Eärendel, a name familiar to Tolkien’s careful readers.

For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

Berry’s debut is set in a universe where people with magic are treated as slaves and mined like resources. Gary Cobalt knows this all too well: as a half-unicorn, he’s been held captive for years by Captain Jenny Perata, who grinds down his horn to power her faster-than-light engines. When he finally gains his freedom and reclaims his ancestors’ stone ship, Perata steals it out from under him—and considering that Gary also murdered her best friend, the wife of her co-pilot, it’s certainly not going to be a comfortable ship to be trapped on. This delightfully weird science fantasy is a perfect escape read.

Seventeen years ago, friends Tony, Mauro, Fabio, and Art made a pact to return to their hometown in Italy every year—but this year, Art doesn’t show up. They search his home and find a strange book he’s written called The Book of Hidden Things: A Field Guide. Further investigation reveals that Art apparently healed a girl dying of cancer and has been kidnapped by the local mafia—and that the book might be a gateway to a better world, the Realm of Hidden Things. All three have their reasons for wanting to gain access to the Realm, but each discovers that the price of entry is much steeper than expected. This is the first novel in English for Dimitri, who is considered one of the foremost fantasy writers in Italy.

With the recent passing of Gardner Dozois, a legend in the field and the guiding force for this anthology, this final edition of The Year’s Best Science Fiction assembled under his guidance takes on more weight—which is saying something, as it’s been one of the most important books every year for sci-fi fans for a very long time. Including stories from Lavie Tidhar (“The Road to the Sea”), Nancy Kress (“Dear Sarah”), James S.A. Corey (“The Hunger After You’re Fed”), Harry Turtledove (“Zigeuner”), Vina Jie-Min Prased (“A Series of Steak”), and Greg Egan (“Uncanny Valley”), among dozens of others, the volume is once again made even more valuable by the introduction, which provides Dozois’ own personal assesment of the state of the sci-fi field, as well as the extensive honorable mentions list, which will load up your reading schedule for the foreseeable future.

Hawke’s debut attracted early comparisons to the work of Robin Hobb, and her story of a young poison-master who must solve a murder to save his city certainly echoes the best qualities of those beloved books: a captivating first-person voice, a richly detailed world, and a complex plot laden with intrigue and conspiracies. Hawke inverts the common fantasy trope of the ever-popular assassin is the story of Jovan, secret heir to a family of Proofers, who dedicate their lives to protecting the highborn from poisons. Jovan’s uncle serves the chancellor while Jovan protects his heir, pretending to be his highborn friend. When both Jovan’s uncle and the chancellor fall prey to a poison no one has encountered before, Jovan must protect the heir at all costs, even as the city falls under siege. Rich worldbuilding and a twisty plot—there are worse things than being spoken of in the same breath as the author of Assassin’s Apprentice.

Kowal offers up the first of a pair of prequel novels to her award-winning novelette The Lady Astronaut of Mars, delving into the alternate history that resulted in humanity establishing a colony on Mars in the middle of the 20th century. In the spring of 1952, a huge meteor hits Chesapeake Bay, taking out most of the Eastern United States. Mathematician and former military pilot Elma York and her scientist husband Nate are there to witness the destruction, and Elma knows immediately that this is an ELE—an extinction-level event—and that humanity must look to the stars if it has any hope of survival. Although her experience as a pilot and her math skills earn Elma a place in the International Aerospace Coalition as a calculator, she begins to wonder why women can’t be astronauts as well—and she’s more than willing to confront racism, sexism, and more personal enemies on her quest to become the first lady astronaut. This is one of those books that seems to have come along at just the right moment, bringing together fascinating, inspiring characters; compelling, plausible worldbuilding; and a message that resonates—especially today.

Kuhn returns to her demon-infested, superhero-defended San Francisco in the third novel in her candy-colored urban fantasy series. Beatrice lives a thoroughly normal life working in a bookstore and hanging out with her friends while her superpowered sister Evie and Evie’s partner Aveda Jupiter keep the city safe from marauding demons. But Bea knows she should be out there doing her part; her powers of emotional projection have the potential to make her the most powerful superhero of them all—if only Evie and Aveda would stop treating her like a spoiled brat and instead see the serious young woman she’s become. When she starts to receive messages from a mysterious source hinting at a terrible evil encroaching on the city, Bea sees her chance to steal the spotlight and show what she can do—but she might be too slow to realize the enormity of the sacrifice she is about to make.

Ruocchio’s ambitious debut is the story of Hadrian Marlowe, who is about to be hanged in front of the entire galaxy. In a universe where the Earth is a dead memory and humanity has spread to many planets and come into bloody conflict with the alien Cielcin, Marlowe was a powerful heir to an empire and a hero in the war against the aliens—and a monster who killed billions, including his own emperor. As Marlowe tells his story in his own words, however, we learn the truth is far stranger—and more tragic—than the official account. Marlowe loses everything, endures horrific poverty and desperation, and claws his way back into power—only to find himself on a collision course with doom in a galaxy dominated by suffocating religion and twisted by horrific violence. It’s not often we encounter a first novel of this scope, or one quite this accomplished—this is Serious Space Opera with a capital S, more Dune than Star Wars, and it signals the arrival of a writer worth paying attention to.

The third and final book of Ryan’s Draconis Memoria series finds the fearsome White Drake leading its army of beasts and men across the world, leaving nothing but ashes in its wake. Claydon Torcreek, Blood-Blessed and able to drink drake’s blood to gain incredible powers; master corporate spy Lizanne Lethridge; and Corrick Hilemore and his ironship are spread to the far borders of the world, each working desperately to harness the new powers and secret knowledge they’ve gained in their separate quests in one last effort to turn the tide of destruction and defeat the Drake. But even if they are victorious, the world they once knew is gone forever, and there’s no certainty what will rise in its place. A narrative that shifts seamlessly between disparate points-of-view, suitably epic action sequences, and excellent dragons—this series is a winner, and deserves to attract more readers.

It’s 1916, and the world is probably not ready for Luz O’Malley Aróstegui, an Irish-Cuban-American and honorary niece of President Teddy Roosevelt. Aróstegui works for the Black Chamber—think the CIA before there was a CIA—and is dispatched to a luxury blimp to seduce Baron Horst von Dückler, a German spy who has knowledge of a secret, horrifying plan to keep the United States out of the Great War. A fierce force of nature who is happy to let chauvinists underestimate her, Luz takes on street gangs, haughty intellectuals, and dangerous enemies with aplomb and cool as she discovers the secret behind the weapon being developed in the mountains of Saxony—a weapon that will be unleashed inside the borders of the United States itself. Stirling takes a break from his long-running Emberverse series, and the result is every bit as enthralling—this alt-history is his best and freshest novel in years.

Third entry in the Legends of the First Empire series finds the boiling tensions between the human Rhune and the elvish Fhrey escalating to open warfare. Nyphron, a Fhrey allied with Rhune leader Persephone, succeeds in taking a great Fhrey fortress for his human allies, even as he plots against them in his own long game. As Nyphron struggles to keep his own followers in line, Persephone hurries to prepare for the inevitable assault coming against her from Fan Lothian, their mutual Fhrey enemy. New technologies like steel and tactics like employing archers in battle are developed as the fragile Fhrey-human alliance faces its first bloody test. Sullivan’s fans will be more than satisfied by this novel, which continues his deep dive into the distant history of the world of his Riyria novels.

In a world inspired by African legends and myths, Neythan is one of a small group of children raised and trained as an elite assassin by the mysterious Brotherhood known as the Shedaím. When Neythan’s closest friend in the group is murdered, he finds himself framed for the crime. Forced to leave the only home he knows, he heads out into the outside world to seek justice and revenge, and discovers that the politics of the surrounding kingdoms are far from easy to navigate—especially now that he is being pursued by his former brothers and sisters. Yongo’s debut feels fresh in its conception and worldbuilding, exploring an intriguing landscape from the points of view of a diverse array of characters of different social strata.

If you’ve ever wondered about the details of the rise of the Rebel Alliance, you’re in luck: this fully illustrated book traces the Rebellion against the Empire from its earliest moments via documents discovered by the Alliance’s successor movement, the Resistance (those early insurgents used paper instead of digital files for security’s sake). These documents show the earliest organizing and actions of the nascent movement, list the names of every member, and detail its evolution from humble beginnings to the triumphant group that took down an Empire. The files also feature margin notes and annotations from legendary rebel leaders General Leia Organa, Mon Mothma, and Admiral Ackbar, offering additional insight into the decisions and missions that freed a galaxy.

This is the 13th Destroyermen novel, and the series shows no signs of slowing down as the world war raging on its alternate Earth hits a boiling point. The vicious, lizard-like Grik are massing their Final Swarm in an effort to reach the sea and break out of Africa, and with the USS Walker—a World War II -era vessel transported to another dimension from our own—is out of commission. That means it’s up to the crew of the USS Santa Catalina, a merchant vessel retrofitted as a warship, and humans’ allies among the cat-like Lemurians, to ensure the Grik don’t succeed. Meanwhile, a second front opens up in South America, and Commander Matt Reddy knows that this is an all-or-nothing moment—either he and his allies win the day, or all is lost.

Kellen is the heir to a powerful magical family in a world that values magical power over everything in this series-starter from de Castell, who won acclaim for his swashbuckling fantasy series The Greatcoats. Kellen’s future should be assured, except for one thing: he can’t cast much magic, and when he turns 16, he will be forced to engage in a magical duel to prove his abilities to society. Instead, Kellen has been honing other skills—deception, trickery, and a keen intelligence—hoping to defeat his magical opponent using nothing more than his brains. When ruse is exposed by his little sister, a magical genius, Kellen is saved from serious harm by a mysterious stranger, Ferius Parfax. Eager to exploit his connection with Parfax, Kellen is enlisted to spy on her by Dowager Magus, widow of the former prince of Kellen’s clan. As an election approaches to choose a new family leader, Kellen must weigh his loyalties, even as a mysterious malady afflicts the young magicians of his nation, preventing them from casting spells. This is the first of a planned six-volume series, with the first four arriving in rapid succession between now and October.

Ray Electromatic, robot assassin, returns for another case in a stylish alternate mid-century Hollywood. The former detective takes out his latest target, but after killing a man in a black hat as ordered, Ray makes a discovery—which he promptly forgets when his 24-hour memory loop is reset (that Christopher has managed to write three novels in which his protagonist can’t form memories—and make them work—is perhaps the most impressive thing about this supremely entertaining mystery series). When another man in a black hat visits Ray at his office the next day, Ray is suspicious, but can’t come up with any reason why he should be. The man isn’t there to hire Ray, though—he’s there to tell Ray that if he and his boss, the computer Ada, want to survive, they’ll have to do exactly what he says, despite the fact that Ray is increasingly certain he’s not only met this man before, but already killed him.

Emrys continues the Lovecraftian alternate history story begun in Winter Tide, in which descendants of the Chyrlid Ahja, the People of the Water in Innsmouth, survived internment camps at the hands of the Federal Government in the 1940s and now struggle to rebuild their home and preserve their bloodline. Aphra and her brother Caleb travel to New York City in search of missing Chyrlid Ahja and Mistbloods, half-human half-Chyrlid Ahja, in hopes of assembling a community again in Innsmouth before developers can steal the land. On the trail of one particular mistblood, they run into new allies and old enemies, and discover that one of their own has thrown in with the Outer Ones, ancient creatures from another reality that threaten not just the Chyrlid Ahja, but everything on Earth. In a time when treatment of refugees and minority groups has put the real world at odds, this series feels ever more essential—but the story it tells is gripping even out of time, providing a fascinating and moving view of the sins of the past through a window darkened by strange magics.

Goss follows up her delightful (and Nebula-nominated) The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter with the continuating of the adventures of the Athena Club, whose membership includes Mary Jekyll, Diana Hyde, Beatrice Rappacini, Catherine Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein—women whose fathers represent the worst of the amoral scientists of the world. When Jekyll receives a letter from Lucinda Van Helsing begging for rescue from the evil experiments her father visits upon her, the Athena Club organizes a rescue which pits them against the Société des Alchimistes. As their struggle against these men who don’t think any rules apply to them grows to a global scale, the women prove to be more than up to the task of imposing some justice on the world. If there’s a more delightfully funny fantasy series being published, we’d like to know about it.

Drawing on Eastern European folklore and the classic fairy tale of Rumplestiltskin, Novik tells the story of Miryem, daughter in a family of Jewish moneylenders led by her incompetent father. With their fortunes on the wane due to his poor business sense, Miryem must step in and turn the family business around. Inspired by a mixture of desperation and genius, she responds by spinning debts into gold—gold that attracts the attention of the Staryk, emotionless fairies who bring winter with them. The Staryk give Miryem Fairy Silver and demand she transform it, too. Miryem does so by turning the beautiful metal into jewelry that attracts the attention of the rich and powerful—but her success brings her more Staryk attention, and thus more problems. Novik’s first standalone novel to come along in the wake of the Nebula Award-winning Uprooted had a tough act to follow, but Spinning Silver—expanded from a short story included in anthology The Starlit Wood—is every bit as enchanting.

Strahan’s final entry in Solaris’ Infinity series of themed anthologies lands with a bang—and an ace lineup of great stories exploring hard lives lived in the depths of space. With stories by Stephen Baxter (“Last Small Step”), Seanan McGuire (“Swear Not by the Moon”), Alastair Reynolds (“Death’s Door”), Kelly Robson (“Intervention”), LavieTidhar (“Talking to Ghosts at the Edge of the World”), and Fran Wilde (“The Synchronist”).

In Huntsville, Georgia in 1968, a mysterious and untreatable sexually-transmitted disease moves through the population, resulting in stillborn and malformed babies. The ones that survive are known as the Plague Generation, and are rejected by the community. They are gathered in The Home, where they are mistreated and abused. When the Plague children begin to develop powers, they see a chance to break free from the “Normals” who have imprisoned and tortured them, and they begin to plot a war against humanity—but their burgeoning powers have attracted the notice of the government, which sees great potential for these children as weapons, even as they slowly come into their own in terrifying and violent ways.

Hearne and Dawson set out to undermine the white male patriarchy in a hilarious and surprisingly deep fantasy in the Pratchett mold. The titular, clichéd farm boy destined to save the world is killed more or less immediately after being anointed the Chosen One, but his death doesn’t end the threat to the world. A colorful band of unlikely heroes must assemble to do the job for him, including a half-rabbit bard, an aspiring evil wizard whose main skill is conjuring bread, a rogue lacking any sort of coordination, and, naturally, a talking goat. Their quest to take on the Dark Lord infesting their world with evil curses and evil-er magic is filled with plenty of jokes, songs, and riffs on the fundamental importance of cheese—but also delves into the inner lives of these crazy characters, making them real, interesting people. (Which is more than can be said of many super-serious epic fantasy stories.)

Horton again gathers the best and the brightest in sci-fi and fantasy short fiction into one immense volume, including standout stories by Charlie Jane Anders (“Don’t Press Charges and I Won’t Sue”), Kameron Hurley (“The Fisherman and the Pig”), Samuel R. Delany (“The Hermit of Houston”), Peter Watts (“ZeroS”), Tobiad S. Buckell(“Shoggoths in Traffic”), Yoon Ha Lee (“Extracurricular Activities”), and Karen Joy Fowler (“Persephone of the Crows”) among man others, drawn from places as diverse as Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, and, in a sign of the times, from authors’ own Patreons.

Nyx, who readers met in Hurley’s Bel Dame Apocrypha series, is a mercenary with a serious drinking problem, which is really only a coping mechanism for her serious everything else problem. In five standalone stories, Nyx and her messed-up crew take on a series of dispiriting jobs as they fight for survival in a world dominated by enormous insects—a world composed of war-blasted wastelands, in which bug magicians plot to exploit an endless war for their own gains. Nyx investigates the death of an ex-con, pays off old debts, and manages to keep her and her team alive—barely—in the midst of a holy war on a planet where technology is all about genetically-altered bugs. In the end, bare survival may be all they’re capable of—but fans of the Bel Dame books will catch plenty of arch references to future adventures and terrible fates that haven’t been served up just yet.

This sequel to Sparrow Hill Road returns us to a distant corner of McGuire’s InCryptid universe, and reunites us with restless, hitchhiking spirit Rose Marshall. Rose has found peace in death, helping spirits move on to the next plane of existence and reveling in finally being with her true love. But the man who killed her, Bobby Cross, drives a car that runs on the spirits of the dead, and he wants nothing more than to finally claim Rose’s soul. Rose is protected from Cross by a magical tattoo—but when he manages to damage it, she finds herself suddenly alive again—much to her horror. In order to get back to the death she loves, Rose will have to team up with a former enemy, someone she’s not entirely certain she can—or should—trust.

In the 24th century, mankind encounters alien civilizations and makes a startling discovery: trust and deals are sealed galaxy-wide with sexual encounters, the idea being an act of physical intimacy is better than any mere signature. This gives rise to Contract Specialists—sexual ambassadors known as Condomnauts whose job is to, um, seal the deal, with the fate of the world on the line. While most Condomnauts are genetically-enhanced to be able to handle a wide range of alien biologies and preferences, Josué Valdés rises from the harsh streets of Rubble City, Cuba, to the ranks of the Condomnauts as a “natural,” a sexual being whose skills are only eclipsed by his ego. When the first alien ambassadors from outside the galaxy itself arrive, offering untold advances and knowledge, Josué faces his biggest challenge, and will need every inch of his talent to pull it off. Yoss (A Planet for Rent, Super Extra Grande) is Cuba’s most celebrated contemporary science fiction author, and we’re delighted another one of his gonzo works has been translated into English.

Chambers’ standalone followup to A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and A Closed and Common Orbit is set within the Exodus Fleet, the generation ships humanity used to escape Earth. After centuries of travel, the ships found the Galactic Commons, and are now orbiting a star and upgraded with alien tech that alters the culture onboard the huge ships, a society which values conservation over all else. The population has dropped as many Exodans leave the ships to seek their fortunes elsewhere; those who remain must ponder the continuing purpose of generation ships that have accomplished their task. The stories of a cross-section of Exodan life slowly come together as these stragglers struggle with the idea of leaving behind the only world they’ve ever known, only to be immigrants lost in other societies. Chambers’ books are celebrated for their warmth, compassion, and diverse characters, but it’s also worth noting that her worldbuilding is top-notch; it’s a delight to spend more time in this universe.

When aliens invade a small town, they put the adults into a zombie-like trance and begin kidnapping children, drugging them and using them as incubators for parasitic lifeforms. At first a group of kids calling themselves The Lost Boys, led by charismatic Wyatt and including transgender Violet (crushing on Wyatt hard) are happy to live in a world where they’re free to do as they please. But when they run into Bo, a Nigerian immigrant who managed to escape the aliens, they’re shocked to discover true implications of the nightmare reality they’re living in. Realizing that the adults are useless, the kids band together to fight the alien menace themselves, overcoming their own fears and damage to do so. Larson has been called one of the best of his generation of science fiction writers by the late Gardner Dozois, and his novel-length debut fulfills the promise of dozens of celebrated short stories.

Zahn continues the story of one of the wider Star Wars saga’s most popular characters with a sequel to 2017’s Thrawn. Emperor Palpatine, secure in his dominance, senses a mysterious disturbance in the Force and dispatches Thrawn and Lord Vader to the distant planet of Batuu to investigate. Vader and Thrawn—the ultimate odd couple, the brutal enforcer and the brilliant strategist—are rivals for power and prestige, but they have a history. As younger—and much different—people, they long ago teamed up to survive on Batuu, and their return to that world on the edges of the Unknown Regions brings them into contact with an unexpected power that threatens their survival—and the Empire itself. It’s a delight to see Zahn playing around again with the character who made us believe in Star Wars again, all those years ago.

Prolific fantasist Tchaikovsky plays with epic tropes, picking up his latest novel where most books end. A decade ago, the Kinslayer returned from the darkness. A brutal demigod, he led armies of Yorughan and monsters from the void on a rampage, destroying armies and leaving nothing but ruin in his wake. A group of heroes, aided by desperate traitors among the Kinslayer’s army, defeated and killed the despot. As Redemption’s Blade begins, as one of those heroes, Celestaine, dedicates herself to rebuilding the world the Kinslayer almost destroyed—a world where his influence is still strongly felt, possibly strongly enough to destroy the fragile peace. Tchaikovsky also writes excellent sci-fi—his science-fiction novella The Expert System’s Brother is also out this month from Tor.com Publishing.

O’Dell (aka Beth Bernobich) sets her alternate Earth fantasy in the wake of a second Civil War. The conflict has torn the country apart and inflamed racial tensions. Dr. Janet Watson, who lost an arm in the fighting, moves to post-war Washington D.C. to work at the Veterans Administration hospital and get used to her new mechanical arm. She rooms with the brilliant, arrogant Sara Holmes in a tidy flat in Georgetown, where the fact that they’re two black women cohabiting inflames lingering racial attitudes in an area still recovering from the hostilities. If you’re wondering, those surnames aren’t accidents—Watson and Holmes quickly find themselves embroiled in a mystery involving Civil War veterans who are dying off one by one, as evidence suggests a plot somehow connected to the upcoming election, with implications for the future of the country.

Yang’s third entry in the imaginative Tensorate series centers on Chuwan Sariman, an investigator for the Protectorate. Sariman is given the job of writing the official government report on a horrific accident at the Rewar Tang Institute, where a genetically-altered animal slipped its leash and massacred the entire staff. Sariman is quickly frustrated as she is given access to a limited amount of information and is thus forced to write an account that can’t possibly represent what happened—as was intended, she realizes. Seeking the truth, she continues to investigate, finding a partner in the relative of one of the slain scientists and discovering, much to her horror, the precise nature of the experiments being conducted at the institute.

]]>https://www.tor.com/2018/07/06/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-july-2018/feed/3Travel to Fantasy Kingdoms, Robotic Cities, or the Edge of the Universe with Barnes & Noble Booksellers Picks for Junehttps://www.tor.com/2018/05/30/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-june-2018/
https://www.tor.com/2018/05/30/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-june-2018/#commentsWed, 30 May 2018 18:00:43 +0000https://www.tor.com/?p=363813For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books. Brief Cases, by Jim Butcher (June 5, Ace—Hardcover) Butcher offers […]]]>

For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

Butcher offers up 12 stories set in the world of Harry Dresden, wizard and private investigator working an alternate, magic-filled Chicago. Several stories follow Harry’s adventures with River Shoulders, a smart sasquatch with a half-human son. Others involve Harry’s apprentice Molly Carpenter, crime boss John Marcone, and even Wyatt Earp. The novella “Zoo Day” follows Harry as he takes his young daughter Maggie to the zoo—and since this is Harry Dresden, you know there’s more in store than daddy/daughter bonding. Dresden fans may have encountered some of these stories before, but rereading them in this collection, alongside one all-new tale, should help ease the pain for waiting for Harry’s next novel-length adventure.

In the distant future, Earth is part of a larger universe of alien civilizations, valued for the one thing that we can supply that no other planet can: chocolate. In order to protect our sole valuable export, chocolate plantations are heavily guarded, and theft is swiftly punished—bad news for Bo Benitez, who’s just been caught trying to steal a cacao pod. Jumping onto an unmarked alien ship to escape the police, she’s believes she’s safe—only to discover the vessel is crewed by beings known for eating stowaways. Hunky aliens, a universe that prizes chocolate above all else, and a smart heroine on the run are the key ingredients in this sweet sci-fi adventure, equal parts space opera and soap opera.

Set in the Star Trek: Discovery series, Swallow’s story focuses on Lieutenant Saru, a Starfleet Officer on the U.S.S. Shenzhou. Saru was born into a prey species, hunted on his native planet by a horde of fierce and terrifying predators; his psychology is thus defined largely by fear. Saru intends to rise above his base nature, but his fierce efforts to prove to both himself and his shipmates crew is more than his genes suggest leads him to act recklessly when the Shenzhou picks up a distress call. Saru soon finds himself in an uncomfortable command position, caught between two alien forces and his own duty as an officer. Discovery has breathed new life into a 50-year-old franchise, and this tie-in will hold you over until the next season begins streaming.

Vampires have come to the United States—and they expect their civil rights to be respected. Lauren Scott, a CDC virologist, is called to Arizona to investigate a corpse with unusual bruising and contusions—but the body is missing when she arrives. A fresh corpse with the same injuries confirms her suspicions: vampires, known as gloamings, are on U.S. soil. Scott finds herself paired with FBI agent Hugo Zumthor and Father John Reilly of the Catholic Church in the struggle against a rising wave of vampiric transformations—and as more and more people are turned, the question of whether or not vampires and humans can coexist becomes more than theoretical.

The author of the beloved Kushiel novels returns to epic fantasy with a whole new adventure. Chosen at birth to be a shadow—one bonded to the Sun-Blessed Princess Zariya of the House of the Ageless, and sworn to protect her—Khai has spent his whole life in the desert, preparing for his role. As his presentation to the princess draws near, however, Khai discovers he is actually bhazim—born genetically female, and raised as a male, even as learns of a prophecy of a fallen god rising in the west, whom the Sun-Blessed is destined to fight. Princess Zariya is determined to fulfill prophecy, despite her frail health, and so must assemble a force of untested defenders to face the awesome power of a risen god—including Khai, must navigate love, friendship, and overwhelming odds to serve his princess and survive.

Novelist and screenwriter Cargill (Sea of Rust, Doctor Strange) assembles a collection of 10 chilling stories, all linked by their fantastic, horrifying premises. The living fend off spirits that wish to take their bodies. The extinction of the dinosaurs leads to a battle with undead alpha predators. A little girl discovers a hidden door in her wall, and going through it, encounters less than wonderful. A would-be terrorist gets a surprising offer just before committing a violent act.

A prequel to the upcoming expansion of the video game World of Warcraft, Golden’s novel is set after the Horde and the Alliance have turned back the Burning Legion. In the battle’s waning moments, the titan Sargeras struck a blow that wounded the heart of Azeroth—and now Azeroth is dying, and a remarkable material known as Azerite is unleashed. Azerite can be used to create or destroy, and the Horde and the Alliance must unite again unlock its secrets use it to heal the world. But Azerite’s power makes betrayal very tempting. Anduin Wrynn, the king of Stormwind, drafts a desperate plan to bring lasting peace—but can the Dark Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, warchief of the Horde, be trusted?

Lee brings the Hugo and Nebula award-nominated Machineries of Empire trilogy to its conclusion with a brainy, fast-paced final entry. Shuos Jedao wakes up in the body of a much older man rather than the 17-year old one his memories led him to expect. He’s shocked to discover he’s now a general, commanded by Hexarch Nirai Kujen—a tyrant hiding behind an easy smile—to conquer the haxarchate using an army compelled to obey his every command. Worse—he quickly discovers that the soldiers despise him for a massacre he doesn’t remember committing. Worst—someone is hunting him, seeking to bring him to justice for his crimes. The first two books in the trilogy stretched imaginations and taxed brains, and this one is no different—and no less worth the effort it takes to puzzle it out.

George R.R. Martin’s long-running shared universe series grows larger and weird, as eight authors tackle a new, standalone tale in a universe wherein an alien virus released in 1946 transformed those who were infected and survived into superpowered villains (Jokers), heroes (Aces), or something in-between. After a game of Low Chicago goes horribly wrong, the players are sent hurtling back in time. The Immortal John Nighthawk leads a team sent after them by the time-manipulating Sleeper, seeking to effect a retrieval before history is changed for the worse. Not all of the stranded folks are in a hurry to get back to their own time, however. Written by a bunch of authors who are Aces in their own right—including Saladin Ahmed, Christopher Rowe, and Mary Anne Mohanraj—this one will satisfy longtime readers, but it also works as an introduction to the long-running franchise (which is poised to become a TV series).

The second installment in the Fall of Shannara quartet, which will end the Shannara saga, picks up with the Druid stronghold of Paranor sent into limbo, and their leader, Drisker Arc, trapped alongside it. Dar Leath, once in charge of protecting Paranor, searches desperately for a way to free Drisker, seeking to locate his apprentice, Tarsha Kaynin—but Leath isn’t the only one searching for Tarsha, and the Skaar aren’t standing idly by while all this happens; Ajin d’Amphere, the Skaar commander, plots to set her opponents against each other, intending to take advantage of the resulting chaos to conquer the Four Lands for herself. Brooks is clearly working hard to make sure the series ends with a bang. This is essential reading for Shannara fans.

This deftly plotted and wildly original debut was a self-publishing sensation (winning author Mark Lawrence’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off contest), and is now aiming for a wider audience with mainstream publication. The titular bastards are a rough-and-ready unit of half-orc warriors, capable fighters who ride wild boars into combat. The Lot Lands lie between the humans (known as frails) and the orcs (known as thicks). Both sides disdain the Grey Bastards as half-breeds. The half-orcs patrol the Lot Lands and protect humans from full-blood orc invasion. Grey Bastard Jackal thinks their leader, Claymaster, is losing his grip—especially when arrival of a wizard the Bastards call Crafty has only exacerbates Claymaster’s strange behavior. When Jackal’s attempted coup fails, he is sent into exile, where he begins to learn the truth about the half-orcs and the border they patrol.

The first novel in translation from Japan’s Tobi Hirotaka, a three-time winner of the Seiun Award (often referred to as “the Japanese Hugo”). Costa del Número is a virtual resort, divided into several zones, including the Realm of Summer. Humanity used to find release and rest from a chaotic world among the artificial intelligences in the Realm, but no human has visited in a thousand years. The AIs there have continued to exist in their endless summer, however—until one day, an army of hungry spiders arrives and decimates the Realm in short order. As night falls, the few surviving AIs prepare for a final, hopeless battle against the invaders, uncertain of what’s happening in the real world beyond their virtual one.

The first book in the High and Faraway series tells the story of Errol Greyson, who wakes up after a suicide attempt trapped in a wooden body, while his flesh-and-blood one lies in a coma. His spirit has been captured by a woman named Aster Kostyena, who put it into the automaton in order to force Errol to travel to the Kingdoms, a place of magic and mystery, to retrieve a magical elixir that will cure her dying father. Errol’s no fan of this plan, but considering Aster can send his spirit into an eternal nothingness on a whim, he agrees. The pair travel to the Kingdoms, a land of strange beauty and dark terrors, encountering strange allies and dreadful enemies, as Errol begins to wonder if all of it is really happening, or if he’s just losing his grip on his sanity.

When the robopocalypse comes, America tries to resist, outlawing artificial intelligence and going to war with machine-run fascist regimes. America loses. Badly. Suing for peace, The country is partitioned, with huge swaths of territory ruled by implacable machines. Canadian CEO Barry Simcoe is visiting Chicago when his hotel is attacked, plunging him into a war of survival. Stumbling onto a machine plot to unleash a virus that will eliminate problematic humans for once and for all, Simcoe finds himself connecting with the American Resistance, and discovering a secret that could tip the balance of power within this new world order. Debut author McAulty is an expert in machine learning, giving this look into humanity’s dark future a terrifying sense of verisimilitude.

Polk’s debut is set in a universe resembling Edwardian England, except for the fact that in this reality, the elite families that sit atop government and the social order have magical powers as well as political ones. Miles Singer is from just such a family, but when he flees the lap of luxury to join the war effort, he grows disillusioned with the trappings of power, and takes the opportunity to fake his own death and assume a new identity. Posing as a doctor at a failing veterans’ hospital, he sees firsthand how war changes people, never for the good—soldiers are returning from the front plagued by terrible versions, and shortly thereafter, committing terrible acts of violence. When one of his patients is poisoned, Miles not only accidentally reveals his healing powers, he is thrust into a mystery that involves an aloof, beautiful man who is more than human—and who may hold the secret to stopping a brewing inter-dimensional war. This bewitching story of political maneuverings, dangerous magic, and bicycle chases is never less than addictive.

Set in the popular video game universe of Halo, This novel from franchise veteran Matt Forbeck centers on the efforts of Cortana, the artificial intelligence turned malevolent, to destroy the Spartans of Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris in the wake of the battle of Genesis. The Spartans are on the run, and the Office of Naval Intelligence comes up with a secret mission that might change the odds. Spartan Edward Buck is convinced, against his better judgment, to reform his old team, Alpha-Nine—including the one Spartan Buck would prefer to never have to serve next to ever again, someone who betrayed Buck in a way he can’t ever forgive.

The final book in The Devil’s West trilogy finds Isobel—the Devil’s Left Hand, charged with helping the powerful but not omnipotent devil make deals and control the roiling, unsettled area west of the Mississippi—and her angelic companion Gabriel arriving at the southern edge of the Territory and the Free City of Red Stick. Red Stick is far from peaceful; homesteaders are crowding the native populations, causing tempers to flare, and an American Fort across the river isn’t helping matters. Worse, there is disease in the city, contributing one more element of chaos to an already roiling situation. Gilman closes out her weird western fable in fine style, with another strongly character-focused story in a setting that would almost be familiar, if it weren’t so fantastically strange.

The law of unintended consequences can be amusing—or terrifying. In a future New York, mayor Tom Cafferty has finally achieved what he hopes will be his legacy: the Z line, a subway linking Manhattan to New Jersey. Three hundred feet underground, a host of VIPs—including the president—join Cafferty to greet the inaugural train, whose passengers include Cafferty’s wife, Ellen. But when the train arrives, it’s a smashed-up, bloodstaine, and empty. The Secret Service invokes extreme measures to protect the president from the perceived terrorist attack, but it soon becomes clear that the drilling and digging has awakened something supernatural—and Cafferty must somehow protect his guests from the unknown while rescuing his wife from something unimaginable.

Like all the best alternate histories, Summerland pivots off of a real-world event: in the midst of inventing radio, Guglielmo Marconi manages to tune into supernatural frequencies. In the alternate world between World Wars that emerges from this strange change, the great powers are managing two spy agencies each—made up of the living and the dead. In England, Rachel White is part of the Winter Court of living spies, and is on the trail of a suspected mole in the Summer Court in the afterlife—known colloquially as Summerland. The dead endlessly complicate history—in Russia, Stalin can’t quite get rid of Lenin, and a fresh colonial age has exploded into the afterlife with unpredictable results. Rajaniemi has written a standalone novel that couldn’t be more different from his celebrated sci-fi novel The Quantum Thief, yet is no less dense, bizarrely original, and imaginative.

Roanhorse’s buzzy debut is set in a post-apocalyptic world comparable to Mad Max: Fury Road in intensity, with worldbuilding drawn from the author’s Indigenous American heritage. In an America devastated by rising sea levels, the Navajo Nation has been reborn as Dinétah—and with it have come the old gods and monsters of Native American legend. Maggie Hoskie is a monster-hunter, gifted with the power to fight and defeat these beasts. Hired by a small town to locate a missing girl, she teams up with a misfit medicine man named Kai Arviso, and the two dive into a mystery that takes them deeper into the dark side of Dinétah than they could have imagined—a world of tricksters, dark magic, and creatures more frightening than any story. This is urban fantasy like you’ve never experienced it before.

The research vessel Magellan stumbles onto something impossible in the depths of space: an hourglass-shaped object at perfect rest. The discovery not only wakes up the cryogenically-frozen crew, it sparks a crack team of scientists on Earth to figure out it’s a navigational buoy—and might provide clues to humanity’s first hyperspace drive. Politics, budgets, and personalities get in the way—and things only get worse when humanity starts to realize they’re considered primitive and brutish by most of the alien civilizations out there. One group even sees a chance to burnish their own galactic reputation by framing humanity as a genocidal race—just as an overconfident captain of a human warship arrives on the scene to complicate things even further. Tomlinson (The Ark) blends Douglas Adams-style absurdity with a rollicking first contact plot—shelve it between The Hitchhiker’s Guide and Catherynne Valente’s Space Opera.

In a past life, Boots Elsworth was a treasure hunter—one of the best. Now past her prime, Boots has been reduced to selling fake information about salvage opportunities and hoping no one comes back for a refund—but then she unexpectedly stumbles onto some real information: the story of what happened to the legendary warship Harrow, one of the most powerful weapons ever created. Nilah Brio was once a famous racer in the Pan Galactic Racing Federation, until she was framed for murder. On the run to prove her innocence, Nilah chases her one lead—the real killer, now hunting someone named Boots Elsworth. When they meet, an uneasy alliance is formed, and the chase for the Harrow—and for justice—is on.

For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

Brassey returns to the world of Skyfarer, the city-sized ship Iseult, and the story of portal mage Harkon, his apprentice Aimee de Laurent, and new recruit Elias. The ship needs to appoint a new captain, but no single candidate in the officer’s court has enough support, so Harkon is called in to render. Politics in the court are ruthless and complicated, and their task is made more ominous by Elias’ dark dreams of an ancient terror slowly making its way through the ship, intent on sending millions of people to their deaths. The crew doesn’t quite accept Elias—formerly known as Lord Azreal, Lord Commander of the Eternal Order, before being saved and recruited by Harkon in the first book in this fabulously entertaining science fantasy series—which makes a complex challenge even more difficult, and the danger, all the greater.

Oichi is a domestic servant on the generation ship Olympia, cybernetically-modified so that most of her sensory input is diverted to the Executives who run society. Partially blind, deaf, and mute, she is assisted by a link to a powerful AI, known as a Medusa, that “feeds” her sensory data from time to time. Oichi is more than she seems, however; her parents were killed when the Executives destroyed the Olympia’s sister ship—punishment for their subversive work attempting to transmit information that would enable anyone to bond with a Medusa, transforming the way of life onboard the immense starship. After she survives an attempted assassination, Oichi is officially declared dead, leaving her free to begin the methodical, bloody work of killing those in power and fomenting a revolution, even as she learns more about her own identity and the ship’s true mission. This sharp-edged novel from a Philip K. Dick Award-winner Davenport (Broken Time, written under a pseudonym) is a revenge thriller told from a unique and unforgettable point-of-view.

An expanded version of a novella previously nominated for a World Fantasy Award, Black Helicopters is set in a world where logic and the laws of nature seem to be decaying. Off the coast of Maine, huge monstrosities appear, and head inland. Forces assemble to hold back the darkness, among them Sixty-Six, the scion of a CIA experiment, while across the ocean in Dublin, an immortal secret agent tracks down twin sisters with incredible powers to recruit them for the cause. As the world descends into paranoia and chaos, buried connections come to light that change everything. As a companion piece to the fungal horror of 2016’s Agents of Dreamland, this novella doesn’t disappoint.

In a world inspired by the recent history and culture of China, the Nikan Empire defeated the Federation of Mugen in the Second Poppy War, and the two countries have since coexisted in a fragile state of peace. Orphaned peasant girl Rin lives a life of misery in Nikan, but when she sits for the Keju, the empire-wide examination designed to find talented youth and assign them to serve where they will be most useful, she scores in the highest percentile and is shocked to be assigned to the prestigious Sinegard military school, home to the children of the Empire’s elite. At Sinegard, Rin is bullied for her dark skin and low social status—but with the help of an insane teacher, she also discovers she is a shaman, able to wield powers long thought lost to the world. As she grows into her power and communicates with living gods, Rin sees clearly that a third Poppy War is coming—and she may be the only one who can stop it. The author is a Chinese-American, and the book’s worldbuilding is informed by her study of twentieth century Chinese history. And did we mention she hasn’t even graduated from college yet? The “year’s best debut” buzz around this one was warranted; it really is that good.

The conclusion to the Themis Files trilogy opens, our heroes—a group of scientists led by the brilliant Rose Franklin, whose life has been defined by her childhood discovery of a giant robotic arm buried deep in the earth—have been transported to the distant planet Esat Ekt inside of the giant machine they assembled together, having successfully used it to ward off a robotic invasion from deep space. In the wake of violence, Rose found life among the Ekt to be peaceful and pleasant, she returns to Earth 10 years later to find it worse off than when she left, the United States and Russia at the brink of war. Russian agent Katherine Lebedev sees in the giant robot that was used to defend the planet—called Themis—a weapon that could subdue enemy nations, but she needs Rose’s help to make that happen—and is willing to do anything to persuade her. Rose recoils from what she sees as an intentional attempt by the whole human race to “lobotomize” itself, and as the world sinks into a quagmire of war and spiraling chaos, she races to find a way to stop the horror without becoming a pawn in a doomsday game. Presented as a form of found documents and interview transcripts, this trilogy has put a new twist on sci-fi tropes, and the ending is just as exciting and explosive as you could ask for.

In the land of Elsira, Jasminda is an outcast due to her dark skin and her Earthsong powers, which are feared and shunned. Living alone, she’s powerless to stop a group of soldiers from invading her cabin to use as shelter, and bringing with them an injured spy whose mission was to prove that the Mantle between Elsira and the land of Lagrimar is failing—and that an ancient evil, growing in power, threatens to return. The spy, Jack, accomplished his mission, but must carry his findings back to his masters in order to save Elsira and its people. When Jasminda meets Jack, she’s smitten, and risks healing him with her Earthsong. The pair escape the cabin and head off on a dangerous quest for knowledge necessary to save the world, but navigating a place where neither is welcome or trusted means they must trust each other totally—and both carry secrets that could ruin everything. This debut, which won awards when originally self-published, introduces an exciting new voice to the wider world of fantasy readers.

As the first entry in The Institute for Singular Antiquities series begins, Romulus Hardy is a young Egyptologist digging into ruins at Saqqara in 1888. While seeking the tomb of an ancient sorcerer, he and his team unearth five coffins and a disturbingly large sarcophagus. The career-making discovery turns sour, however—curses will do that. The expedition suffers from a classic mummy’s tomb-style consequences, leaving everyone but Rom dead in short order. He returns to America with the coffins in order to deliver them to his wealthy, reclusive sponsor, but his train is hijacked by ghouls—yes, ghouls—and the mummies are taken to Mexico. Rom must suit up and team up with a band of misfits to head south and bring them back—but they quickly discover they’re up against a lot more than some bandits. There are vampires, evil monks, monsters, and gunslingers lurking about, and as Rom’s mission grows increasingly wild—and increasingly dangerous, the book only grows more compulsively readable.

Anderson and Hoyt reimagine the journey of Lewis and Clark in the context of an alternate history wherein a magical battle in 1759 not only destroyed Halley’s Comet but also caused the Sundering, a magical separation of the New World from the Old. Cut off from Europe. the colonists in America discover new magical abilities—but face an untamed continent, where powers beyond their understanding stir and grow. When the old wizard Ben Franklin is attacked by a fire-breathing dragon, he hires Meriwether Lewis and his partner Will Clark to head into the Arcane Territories west of the Mississippi and find the source of the danger. It’s a mission of exploration and first contact with indigenous tribes that could possibly pierce the magical veil separating them from the rest of the world, or expose them to an even greater evil. Alternate histories don’t come more imaginative or action-packed.

Feist’s first foray outside the universe of The Riftwar Saga begins in bloody fashion, as Baron Daylon Dumarch betrays his liege, King Steveren Langene of Ithrace, known as Firemane. Dumarch believes he is trading his king’s life for his own family’s safety, but he quickly comes to regret his betrayal when the five kingdoms of the world are plunged into the abyss of war, and Ithrace is destroyed. When a child that may be Firemane’s heir is left with Dumarch, now a kingless free lord, he has a chance to make amends and chooses to raise and protect the boy in secret. Meanwhile, another child of mysterious origin, Declan, grows up as a blacksmith’s apprentice, and somehow unlocks the ancient secret of forging what’s known as King’s Steel—putting his life in danger. Forced to flee, Declan and the unknowing heir to Ithrace’s throne find their fates colliding, and leading them towards a terrible secret.

The second in Kenyon’s Dead Man’s Cross series finds the world in grave peril, beset by the demonic forces that have broken free of their enchanted prison to plot the downfall of mankind. Vine is the worst of them, and Kalder Dupree his prisoner, and having sacrificed himself to save his shipmates, he expects no rescue, and no mercy. But Cameron Jack, a Hellchaser, plans to offer him both both—she can’t sit idly by and see a man punished for doing the right thing. Cameron is willing to commit her own terrible acts of destruction to rescue Dupree. Vine is powerful, but she may have met her match in this Hellchaser on a mission.

The human race has reached the stars and settled on distant planets, and all but abandoned religion along the way—just one planet, Gehenna, clings to a spiritual belief system. Instead of belief in an afterlife, the rest of humanity has AfterLife, a social media network where people can (thanks to omnipresent surveillance) watch replays of every moment in a dead person’s life like a TV show, and vote on whether they want that person to be resurrected. On the planet Bleak, a police officer looking into a string of murders is almost the final victim, events that him morbidly fascinated with death. He goes to work on The Rig, where the winners of AfterLife are placed in suspended animation deep under the sea. Meanwhile, a writer named Raisa begins investigating the murders—leading to a story with implications stretching across space to every human-settled planet. And on the devout planet Gehenna, a young boy genius meets a sociopath, setting in motion a complex string of events that lead back to the Rig. This is meaty literary SF in the David Mitchell vein, but weirder and more far-flung in its storytelling.

On the planet Gattis, owned by a corporation and populated by two native races, the Dreihleen and the Ohba, rookie cop Eric Matheson arrives in defiance of his corporate family and immediately finds himself assigned to a pressure-cooker case: 16 murdered Dreihleen in a slum of the capital city Angra Dastrelas, and the accused killer is an Ohba. Together with his cybernetically-enhanced partner J.P. Dillal, who is half Dreihleen, Matheson must navigate a case that is inflaming rebellion against the corporation, heavy pressure from his superiors, and the growing knowledge that if things on the ground get out of hand, the corporation might choose to simply destroy both populations in a horrific, but efficient, genocide. When you’re a cop whose job is enforcing corporate policy instead of coherent laws, upholding justice is impossible. This is lean, mean noir storytelling in a science-fictional setting, and will satisfy fans of either genre.

Saintcrow begins this story where many books about the Second American Civil War would end: the hostilities are over, the fascist government has fallen, and the prison camps have been liberated. But the true struggle is just beginning: the devastation of a war that set citizens against each other means that the rebuilding won’t be simple, nor will be the repair of social bonds destroyed beyond recognition by years of conflict and propaganda. Swann and his Riders served in the bloodiest parts of the war, and now hunt war criminals for the new Federal Government. Their latest quarry carries something that could destroy the fledgling government and upset the delicate peace that’s been imposed, putting the soldiers right back in the midst of a bloody battle for freedom and justice.

After a prolonged absence from long-form fiction, Geralt of Rivia, a.k.a. The Witcher, returns in a tale set before the events of the short story “The Witcher.” Geralt gains even more renown as a monster hunter when he kills an idr, using people as bait—but failing to protect them all in the process. With his reputation at an all-time high, he raises his fees, but finds himself accused of stealing from the crown and thrown into jail. When he finally secures his release, he learns that his steel and silver swords—the tools of a Witcher—have been stolen, and he sets off on a quest to retrieve them. This, of course, proves more difficult than it should be—and now that he’s without his weapons, his enemies are gathering like storm clouds on the horizon.

When Vin is fired as CEO of the tech firm he founded—one more indignity in his life’s recent downward spiral—he lands a fascinating side-gig house-sitting for a mysterious, revered genius who has gone missing. Vin finds himself drawn to the mystery of where Nerdean has gone and what he’s working on, and his curiosity leads him to the discovery of a basement laboratory containing three casket-like receptacles—one of which contains a woman in apparent suspended animation. Vin gets inside one of the remaining devices, and experiences what he first thinks is a form of lucid dream in which he shares and controls the body of Winston Churchill. But when he emerges, he finds his reality altered in fundamental ways. Already in a bad place, Vin begins to use the power of Nerdean’s invention to reshape reality for his benefit without care for the damage he’s doing or the lives he’s destroying—if, that is, he isn’t just imagining it all. It’s a brain-teasing take on time travel and parallel universes from the author of Join.

Asher’s new series within the Polity universe centers on the accretion disk, a designed solar system left behind by the terrifying, civilization-devouring Jain and littered with their deadly technology. Orlandine, a human-AI hybrid known as a haiman, and Dragon, a massive, sentient alien artifact of a vanished race with an intense hatred of the Jain, head to the disk to investigate while the human polity and the crablike prador wait suspiciously on the sidelines, each determined to ensure the other nation does not gain control of the Jain technology. The Polity is one of the most compelling areas in space opera, a sort of dark mirror version of the Culture, and this book offers a great opportunity for new readers to jump in with both feet.

Campbell’s second Genesis Fleet novel opens three years after the unsuccessful attack by rebel forces on the planet Glenlyon, where Rob Geary and former marine Mele Darcy led the defense. Tensions have only increased since, however; Glenlyon is cut off from the rest of space by a blockade, and after a disaster that sees one of their warships destroyed, the planet only has one remaining vessel to defend it from future attacks. Geary makes a fateful decision to use the ship to provide security for a diplomatic mission to nearby star Kosatka, facing its own problem with a group of supposed rebels who aren’t what they seem. When a “peacekeeping” force made up of enemy soldiers arrives, things look grim for everyone. This prequel series to Campbell’s Lost Fleet saga offers fascinating backstory, but also stands alone nicely.

Bennis’ second Signal Airship novel opens with Captain Josette Dupre and the airship crew of the Mistral in the capital city of Kuchin for refitting. Assigned a foppish noble (and his handsome older brother) as an advisor, Dupre must navigate the ridiculous but dangerous waters of court, and barely survives a royal audience. When her hometown of Durum is captured by the Vinzhalian army—making her own mother a prisoner of war—Dupre must use her newfound knowledge of politics to secure support for a mission of liberation. Launching a rescue mission will mean dealing with raw recruits, scant supplies, and hints of treason and betrayal. Bennis breathes new life into the steampunk genre with a book that blends wall-to-wall action with well-rounded, fascinating characters.

Book 2 in the Amberlough Dossier moves from smoky nightclubs to the glamor of filmmaking for another steamy spy thriller, set three years after the events of the Nebula-nominated Amberlough. Spy Cyril DePaul is gone, and the fascist One State Party (known as the Ospies) have taken control, “uniting” by force the four countries of Gedda, and, in the process, birthing a robust. Cordelia Lehane leads one of the resistance groups with bomb-throwing passion. After she is forced to flee Gedda, she teams up with Cyril’s ex-lover, expat Aristide Makricosta, currently making films in the tropical paradise of Porcharis. Cyril DePaul’s sister Lillian is pressed into service by the government, compelled to seduce one of the missing Cyril’s colleagues under threat to her young son. As each character plots—whether to return to Gedda, or to escape the Ospies—they crash into each other in unexpected ways, forced to trust the untrustworthy in a world riddled with spies, suspicion, and double-crosses.

The concluding chapter of the Queens of Renthia trilogy plunges the countries of Semo and Aratay into bloody, desperate war. Queen Naelin of Aratay is informed that Queen Merecot of Semo has kidnapped her children, and is forced to negotiate for their safety and release. This complicates the plans of her fellow queen Daleina, who hopes for an end to the endless depravations of nature spirits who want to exterminate humanity. Naelin isn’t the sort to negotiate, and Merecot has bigger plans than simply going to war with her rivals to the south. As all forces, human and otherwise, muster for an epic confrontation, the kingdoms are brought to the brink of chaos. With a story focused on powerful women and worldbuilding worthy of Guy Gavriel Kay, this series has been a dark delight.

The King of Calidon lies on his deathbed, suffering the ill effects of a magical ring on his finger that cannot be removed. A young fey boy arrives at the castle with claims he can help the king, and a confession that he knows the origins of the cursed object: the king was captured by the queen of Elfland long ago, and kept prisoner in her world. When he wished to return home, the queen sent him back to the precise moment he’d been captured, removing all his memories of his captivity—and of the young son he fathered with the queen—none other than the fae boy, Albaric. Albaric is dismayed to find the king really doesn’tremember him, and regards him with dislike and distrust. Doomed to be an oddling in a mortal world, Albaric sets out to find his place, with help from his half-brother Aric, the king’s human son. Springer is the author of more than 50 books for children and adults; this one hits the sweet spot between them, a richly written story of two young men finding their true paths.

The first book in Lawhead’s Eirlandia series introduces the titular island, ruled by Celtic tribes under the loose authority of a High King who has issued a call for unity against the threat of invasion by the barbaric Scálda. Conor is the first-born of king Ardan mac Orsi, and should by rights be his heir, but a birthmark makes him unsuitable to the superstitious tribesmen. When Conor witnesses the Scálda kidnapping a beautiful, otherworldly woman he believes to be a faéry, he embarks on a quest to both prove himself to his people and find out what the Scálda are up to—if they can master the faéry’s magic, Eirlandia is doomed.

McCellan’s sequel to Sins of Empire dives back into the bloody tale of the Dynize Empire’s invasion of Fatrasta, a war started to celebrate a reunified empire and gain access to the godstones, powerful artifacts that will enable the Dynize to literally create a new god. Taniel Two-shot, who has himself killed a god and thus acquired incredible powers, is back, as is Ka-Poel, a bone-eye sorcerer, standing in opposition to the Dynize threat. Taniel comes across General Vlora Flint and her Riflejack mercenaries as they safeguard refugees from the invasion, while Ka-Poel joins up with the Mad Lancers, formerly invincible soldiers under the command of Colonel Ben Styke. The combined forces seek to locate the godstones before the Dynize, even as espionage and skulduggery back at the capital further complicates matters.

In a world where magical “grit” must be collected in unique ways—for example, feeding precious jewels to a dragon and collecting the, er, biological results—Ardor Benn fancies himself long past his harvesting days. And where others look at him and see a con artist and a thief, he prefers to see himself as a “Ruse Artist Extraordinaire,” skilled in pulling of complicated schemes and a master of deceit. When he’s hired to steal a king’s crown jewels so they can be fed to a dragon and made into a particularly powerful batch of magical grit, he assembles an Ocean’s 11-style team of forgers, thieves, dissemblers, and con artists to pull off the job. Even as they plan their audacious crime, it becomes clear there’s much more at stake than simple larceny and a good payday. In fact, Ardor begins to think he and his team of criminals may be the only thing standing in the way of the end of the world. This one is for all you fans of Scott Lynch and Marshall Ryan Maresca eager to meet your next favorite fantasy ne’er-do-well.

This bind-up includes two novellas and related short stories set in an alternate 19th century in which hippos run wild through the American southeast, having been introduced to the swamps of the Mississippi as an alternative source of meat (a scenario based on a real-life plan that never came to be in our reality. An unscrupulous businessman sets the hippos free in southern Louisiana as part of his own plans for local dominance, and the beasts soon become a huge problem only Winslow Houndstooth and his diverse team of criminals and gunslingers can solve. The hippo wranglers embark on a wild adventure that tests their mettle against the surprisingly deadly hippopotami.

Norse god Loki is trapped in a sort of hellish purgatory in the wake of Ragnarok in Harris’ sequel to The Gospel of Loki. Desperate for a way out, he discovers that humans in the Ninth World—Earth, that is—still believe in the gods to a certain extent, which gives him and his fellow dieties, including his brothers Thor and Odin, an avenue of escape. Loki soon finds himself sharing the mind of a teenage girl named Jumps, who is disappointed and irritated at his presence (she was hoping for Thor). Thor, meanwhile, has found his way into the mind of a dog, and isn’t displeased with this turn of events. Odin and Freya take up residence in two of Jump’s friends—and Odin develops a plan to put the Norse gods back on top. Living up to his reputation, Loki immediately begins to gum up the works. These aren’t exactly the gods of legend, nor of Marvel, for that matter, but they are supremely entertaining to read about, and Loki’s narrative voice is irresistible.

North latest presents a chilling future England that operates by corporate rules and in which all crimes are dealt with via fines and indentured servitude. If you break the law, the Criminal Audit Office assesses the value of the crime—say, £780 for sexual harassment. If you can pay the fine, that’s the end of it. If you can’t, you must work to pay off the debt. Theo Miller works for the Audit Office, so he knows what the fine is when he stumbles on the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Dani: £84,000. Dani had been investigating the crimes of the Company that runs everything, and paid for her fearlessness with her life. When Dani’s last breath is used to inform Theo that he’s the father of her daughter, he decides to continue Dani’s work, doggedly pursuing those who paid to have her killed. Told in an unusual, challenging narrative voice, 84K paints a bleak picture of a world where everything has a price and nothing has value.

The latest entry in the anthology series exploring how emerging technologies might shape our future boasts an all-star lineup of short fiction masters. Ken Liu has a Black Mirror-ish take on cryptocurrency; J.M. Ledgard explores concepts of loneliness and solitude as experienced by the fascinating mind of a nearly-30,000-year-old artificial intelligence; Elizabeth Bear wonders how a “smart home” might be manipulated into acting against its owners. These and nine other stories—by the likes of L. Huang, Clifford V. Johnson, Liu Cixin, Paul McAuley, Nnedi Okorafor, Malka Older, Sarah Pinsker, and Alastair Reynolds—give us a glimpse of futures that are funny, dark, exciting, and horrifying.

Before V.E. Schwab found breakout success with the Shades of Magic trilogy, she released Vicious, her debut novel for adult readers, which explores and subverts comic book tropes with all the ferocity the title implies; it’s being rereleased with a new cover in the lead-up to the long-in-coming sequel, Vengeful. Victor and Eli are two driven, unhappy young men who meet as roommates in college. Recognizing similar drives in one another, they combine their research efforts into abilities that can be unlocked via manipulation of adrenaline, ultimately cracking a code that allows them to each acquire what can best be described as superpowers. Victor winds up in prison, and Eli goes down an even darker path, determined to identify and eliminate other super-powered humans he considers to be “unnatural”—including a young girl named Sydney, who has the power to raise the dead. The narrative opens in the wake of Victor’s prison break, as he and Sydney team up to take Eli down, and the story hops back and forth in time, only coming fully into focus at the end. There are no heroes here, only flawed, broken people trying to do what they believe is right—no matter the cost.

For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

Butler’s followup to last year’s Witchy Eye brings us back to a raw, unsettled alt-America as teenager Sarah Calhoun arrives in Ohio to sit the Serpent Throne of Cahokia, hers by right of birth. Before she can claim the crown, she must deal with the regent and seven of her relatives, all of whom also claim rites of succession. Sarah’s lack of familiarity with the culture and traditions of her own people also proves to be a stumbling block. Elsewhere, more trouble brews: in New Orleans, a new priest rises to take up the mantle of dead Bishop Ukwu as the city is beset by opposing forces pursuing conflicting goals, and the Anishinaabe hunter Ma’iingan heads off on a quest to find a troubled but powerful healer named Nathaniel. It’s a worthy sequel that will draw in fans of the first novel, as Butler deepens an impressive fantasy world.

In a world inspired by Viking-era Europe, the Anakim, a race of giants living close to nature, haven’t been defeated in battle for centuries—until an upstart human Sutherner named Bellamus leads a successful attack against them, killing the Anakim leader and thus elevating his son Roper Kynortas to the throne. Grieving and unready for rule, Roper must not only deal with the surging Sutherners and their cunning leader, but also solidify his grip on power against threats both obvious and subtle, from the opposition of Uvoren, leader of the Sacred Guard and a hero of the Anakim; to the actions of hidden groups of women who operate under the radar in the otherwise male-dominated warrior culture. Roper is forced to seek any alliance he can in order to stave off the threat posed by Bellamus’ army—and one wrong move could topple him from his throne. Filled with action and bloody battles, Carew’s debut is an impressive start to the Under the Northern Sky series.

An immense number of SFF short stories are published each year, and if you are looking for someone to curate it for you, Neil Clarke is a wise choice—after all, as the founder of the lauded magazine Clarkesworld, he’s published many of the best of the best himself. For the third edition of his annual anthology series from Night Shade Books, he has once again assembled an impressive lineup of stories pulled across the genre publishing world. Among the more than 25 stories on offer are new classics by the likes of Alastair Reynolds, Nancy Kress, Greg Egan, Yoon Ha Lee, Peter Watts, Finbarr O’Reilly, and Tobias S. Buckell, pulled from places like Clarkesworld, Diabolical Plots, and Analog Science Fiction and Fact, among others, ranging from the famous to the more obscure. If you’re looking to discover new SFF authors, or simply seeking a sampler of the past year’s short fiction, this book is a good bet.

In Drake’s 12th book in the RCN series, Roy Olfetrie’s dreams of becoming an officer in the Republic of Cinnabar Navy are crushed when his father’s career ends in disgrace and a raft of criminal charges. Offered a chance to join a diplomatic mission to the planet Saguntum, Roy jumps on board—but upon arrival at the planet, he is pressed ganged into the crew of another ship, then taken prisoner by pirates, and finally, sold into slavery. Roy must figure out how to escape, rescue fellow slave Monica Smith from a harem maintained by the local admiral, and get back to Saguntum before it’s too late.

In the final book of Kevin Hearne’s bestselling Norse-inspired urban fantasy series, 2,000-year old druid Atticus O’Sullivan finds himself facing his greatest challenge ever when he squares off against Loki and Hel as the gods trying their best to set Ragnarok into motion. Worse, Loki and Hel have actually reached out to the other gods of mischief and darkness in other belief systems, forging alliances to increase their odds. Atticus does a fair bit of recruiting on his own, bringing together an Indian witch, a tyromancer, and even a god of his own to fight against those who wish to bring about the end of the world. Meanwhile, Granuaile MacTiernan and Archdruid Owen Kennedy have their own troubles to deal with—the former teaming up with immortals to fight the Yama Kings in Taiwan, the latter globetrotting in a frenzied effort to keep the world safe for druids everywhere. All of it twists together into a thrilling, satisfying final adventure for the Iron Druid, with stakes that couldn’t be higher.

Lawrence returns with another novel in the world of last year’s Red Sister, one of our Best SFF of 2017 picks. As the novel opens, trained assassin Nona Grey has grown older but still day-to-day in extreme danger. The orphan girl turned lethal killer is nearing a decision point—she will soon have to choose her fate: become a Red Sister, fighting to protect herself and the order, or seek a life of service and study, delving into the mysteries of the universe. Her past crimes and immense power still make her a target, however, and she’s made enemies of several dangerous people: a failed assassin who burns to correct a mistake, a power-hungry woman leading the Inquisition, and a revenge-focused lord whose son Nona killed. This blood-spattered series features intriguing politics amid the scenes of sudden violence, and is populated by a host of fascinating, deadly women.

In the sequel to A Man of Shadows, private investigator John Nyquist escapes from a city split between perpetual day and perpetual night only to find himself in one where words are magic—and everyone is either a writer or a character in someone else’s writing. He wakes up in a room next to a corpse—but the corpse isn’t completely silent, and Nyquist is thrust into a mystery even as he struggles to literally write his own destiny in a place where ideas are chaotically shaping everything around him. Nyquist may be the only man capable of putting the city back into some sort of order, but he may have lost too much of himself already. This noir-tinged mystery might be even weirder than its predecessor, which is saying something.

Tesara and Yvienne Mederos are sisters whose merchant clan family was once the toast of high society in the city of Port Saint Frey, but has been ruined by a disaster at sea and the machinations of the corrupt Merchants Guild. Yet Tesara worries the reasons behind their downfall might not be that cut-and-dried—that her wild magic might have caused the storm that destroyed her family’s ships. While she guards that secret, the sisters return from their boarding school to Port Saint Frey and set about getting revenge against those who took advantage of that weakness. Yvienne uses the power of words to infiltrates a rich household, while Tesara begins gambling with the moneyed classes, looking for an opportunity. The sisters will have to learn how to lie, cheat, and steal if they’re going to restore their family’s fortunes.

Older tackles the shady backstory of two of the most interesting men in the Star Wars universe in this tie-in to May’s movie Solo: A Star Wars Story. Before the rise of A New Hope or an Empire’s Strike Back, Lando and Han try their hand at robbing a dangerous, brilliant inventor—Fyzen Gor—of a priceless transmitter. Years later, by now a hero of the resistance and raising a family with Princess Leia, Han is visited by Lando in the middle of the night. It seems his old friend is being hunted by assassins, and Gor’s thirst for vengeance is hot enough to threaten not just Lando, but all of Cloud City. Han and Lando must team up one more time in order to stop the inventor’s plans and make up for their past misdeeds—but they’ll need the help of group of fellow scoundrels and scum in order to have a fighting chance. We’re excited to see what a writer with Older’s chops and style will do with the toys offered up by the galaxy far, far away.

In this dark, weird western, a woman named Carol Evers suffers from a bizarre condition that periodically puts her into a temporary coma indistinguishable from death. For two to four days, she’s trapped in a strange consciousness or reality she calls Howltown, afflicted by a personification of rot that wants to claim her permanently. Only a few people know about her condition—her old lover James Moxie, who fled, unable to handle it; her current husband Dwight, greedy and growing tired of caring for her; and a household maid she confides in. When her next attack hits, Dwight determines to bury Carol before she awakens in order to claim her fortune—but Moxie gets word of his scheme and rides to save her, even as he is pursued by a ruthless inhuman killer. Meanwhile Carol faces her own demons in Howltown. Sleeping Beauty was never quite so strange, or so horrifying.

Frank Kittridge was once an architect skilled in the use of operating heavy machinery to construct buildings. Now, he’s a murderer serving a sentence that will see him dead in prison with no chance at parole. Until he gets an unexpected offer: serve out his sentence on Mars, helping to build a permanent base there. It’s a shot at something like freedom in a planet-sized prison (there’s no return trip in the cards) and a legacy he can be proud of. Meanwhile, the company gets free laborers that no one will weep over if something goes wrong. But once he’s landed on the Red Planet, things begin to go haywire for Frank in deadly ways—and Frank starts to think they’re not just accidents, plunging him into a fight for a life he’s just gotten back. It’s The Martian meets Escape from New York.

Not So Stories, edited by David Thomas Moore(April 10, Abaddon—Paperback)

The Just So Stories of Rudyard Kipling are undeniable classics, a collection of children’s stories that offer children glimpses into an older world, more magical and mysterious than the one that’s made smaller by technology and the march of time. But those stories are also undeniably tough to swallow in 2018—Kipling was a product of his time, a man who saw the colonial empire he was a citizen of as a positive force in the world; his dismaying attitudes toward the native peoples of those conquered lands have aged his work poorly. Here, editor David Thomas Moore assembles a murderer’s row of today’s prominent and up-and-coming writers of color to reimagine these stories for the modern age. The results are funny, touching, and often profound. Contributors include Paul Krueger, Georgina Kamsika, Raymond Gates, and Cassandra Khaw, among many others.

Myerreturns to the universe of her debut, Last Song Before Night, with a standalone adventure that treats the events of the earlier book as backstory, setting up a new tale of dangerous magic and political skulduggery. Lin Amaristoth has been freshly educated in magic, and as court poet of the Kingdom of Eivar, is sent to the kingdom’s ally Kahishi as part of an effort to help Kahishi with their struggle against the Fire Dancers, wielders of strange magic who are attacking border settlements. Lin finds herself adrift in an unfamiliar court where plots and treachery are commonplace, racing to discover the truth behind the attacks and discover the secrets of the Fire Dancers. Back home, Lin’s mentor Valanir Ocune struggles to oppose the new Archmaster of the Academy, Elissan Diar, who has established a secret cabal of “chosen” disciples to study dangerous and forbidden magics—but Ocune faces long odds, with few allies he can trust. Myer (who is also a contributor to this blog) builds fascinating worlds, but it is the people who populate them that truly make her novels sing.

Detective tropes are given a techno-philosophical twist in this sci-fi mystery. Two hundred years in the future, an alien race known as the Masters have terraformed Earth and spread humanity into the universe, settling us on dozens of colony worlds. Keon Rause is a government agent returning to service on the planet Magenta after a five year leave of absence while he mourned his wife, a fellow agent killed in a terrorist explosion while investigating an unknown lead. Rause isn’t alone; he’s come back with an AI version of his wife, a digital reconstruction crafted from every trace of data she left behind—and crafted with the purpose of helping him figure out how and why she really died. Cashing in every favor he has left from his previous life, he finds himself following in her footsteps even as he struggles with his feelings for the simulacrum he’s created. It all leads to an impossible choice when he and his team stumble onto a disaster in the making: save the planet and lose his wife forever, or let something terrible happen and solve the mystery?

The seventh (and final) book in Wallace’s deadly sins-inspired Sin du Jour series finds the titular catering team facing a final choice: to stand together and resist, or to go quietly into that night. As the entity once known as Allensworth reveals its plans to take over the world—and the role Sin du Jour has unknowingly been playing in bringing them about—Bronko gathers the chefs and staff of caterers to the supernatural world and prepares them to go to war, calling in favors and using every dirty magical trick they’ve learned over the years to mount a resistance. Meat puppets, gnomes, demons—Allensworth throws everything at them, and not everyone is likely to walk away from this one—assuming anyone walks away at all.

If you’ve been looking to get schwifty with a new space opera, look no further. Valente spins a truly nutty sci-fi story that begins with the Sentience Wars that nearly eradicated all intelligent life in the universe; when they ended, the scattered survivors regrouped and began a new tradition designed to avoid future apocalypses: the Metagalactic Grand Prix, a universe-wide competition of song and dance open only to recognized sentient species. When any new species emerges onto the universal stage to declare itself sentient—like, say, humanity—they must send contestants to the Metagalactic Grand Prix to prove their worth and quite literally sing for their lives (though alien singing doesn’t always sound like a Top 40 hit). Place anything but last and the upstart civilization is a part of the club. If they come in last…well, they’re quietly exterminated, in the name of preserving universal peace. (Tough choices, people…and not people.) When Earth is unexpectedly pulled into the next contest, the task of saving humanity falls to a has-been rock star named Decibel Jones, who must grapple with the demons of his past while venturing reluctantly onto the largest stage of all-time. It’s a a second chance to be a glitter-bombed rock star. or die trying—along with everyone else. Inspired by her dual love for Eurovision and Douglas Adams, this one is pure Catherynne Valente, from the first page to the last.

Celia is a sweet, emotionally rich 13-year -old when she is put into cryogenic sleep after being diagnosed with a incurable disease. When a cure is developed and she’s awoken, it’s far in the future, and the world has changed in disorienting ways—most notably, humanity has lost most of its emotions. Celia finds herself in a society in which emotional masseuses work to help people recover those lost feelings, where everyone is dependent on personal robots to get through their daily lives, and independent thought is deprecated in favor of search algorithms that make decisions for you. The relationship between our current technology and the future evolution of the human heart is just one challenge facing young Celia as she makes her way alone into a brave new world.

In Camp’s debut, New Orleans is a city filled with magic, gods, and demi-gods—like Jude Dubuisson. Once a street musician who used his magic to locate missing people and possessions, Jude was broken by Hurricane Katrina and the endless loss it bred into the firmament of the city. Retreating into a hermit’s life, he’s cut himself off from the world. But when the God of Fortune is killed, Jude is pulled back into the mix in a big way. With steep odds against finding a happy ending for himself, he decides to save what he can in the city he loves, and for the people who live there. Camp’s style and storytelling have been compared to jazz, with particular praise heaped upon the transformation of post-Katrina New Orleans into an even more otherworldly place.

The eighth book in the Academy Series offers an ideal on-boarding point for new readers. Interstellar pilot Priscilla “Hutch” Hutchins is tapped to lead an urgent World Space Authority mission in response to a 7,000-year old alien transmission composed of video of a beautiful waterfall accompanied by music. WSA consultant Derek Blanchard is racing against the clock as a xenophobic government plans to pass legislation making space exploration illegal. When Hutch and the team make first contact, it goes unexpectedly—but optimistically so, in juxtaposition to the news headlines screaming from Earth of celebrity gossip, mass shootings, and dubious scientific breakthroughs that prove that in this future, human nature hasn’t advanced as much as our technology.

Set in the floating city of Qaanaaq, built in the arctic circle in the wake of the terrible climate wars that saw ground-level cities burned and razed, Miller’s adult debut (his lightly fantastical YA The Art of Starving was one of the most acclaimed books of last year) is an intricate jewel box of ideas. The floating city is a marvel of engineering, but is starting to show the strain: poverty is rising, and crime and unrest along with it. A new disease known as the Breaks—which throws the infected into the midst of other people’s memories—is sweeping the population. When a woman arrives in Blackfish City riding on an Orca and accompanied by a polar bear, she’s an instant celebrity, dubbed the Orcamancer. She takes advantage of her fame to draw together the citizens Qaanaaq and set in motion acts of resistance and rebellion that will have incredible impact, leading four people them in particular to see through the corruption, lies, and marvels of the city to the shocking truths beneath. This is the kind of swirling, original sci-fi we live for.

In an alternate Rome, the dictator Ocella is assassinated, and forces political, military, and magical instantly begin maneuvering to fill the power vacuum that’s left. Latona of the Vitelliae, a skilled mage of spirit and fire, can finally use her powers in public now that the dictator who hated her family is dead—but she is unsure and afraid. Her sisters vie for influence in their own way, while Senator Sempronius—breaking sacred law that forbids mages from serving in the Senate—finds himself dealing with rival factions that seek to unmask him even as he struggles to plan the city’s defense from potential rebels invading from the north. When Latona and Sempronius are pulled together by the whirring gears of power, they find they form a potent team, and together, they just might shape the fate of an empire. Morris’ ambitious debut is rich in detail and intricate in its plotting.

Newman returns a third time to her Planetfall universe with this creepy, moving psychological sci-fi mystery. Celebrated artist Anna Kubrin is struggling with postpartum depression after the birth of her child, so an offer from a billionaire to spend some time on Mars as its resident geologist and artist seems like the perfect escape. When she arrives on the Red Planet months later, she’s shocked to discover a painting clearly created by her—and the work seems to be warning her not to trust the colony’s resident psychiatrist. Other details don’t add up, and Anna begins to wonder if she’s enmeshed in some sort of huge conspiracy—or if she’s losing her mind. Isolated and far, far away from those she can trust, Anna sees only one way out, and that’s to delve deeper into the mystery. Newman is a fine fantasist, but her science fiction has proven to be truly otherworldly; this one is again likely to stand alongside the year’s best books.

In a near-future England, Alma is one of the few people not permanently plugged into The Shine, the ultra-addictive and immersive successor to the internet that’s so compelling, the world is slowly breaking down due to lack of human interest in maintaining it. Making her life even harder, Alma’s lover is sick and requires a specific treatment every four hours without fail—and Alma’s the only one who can administer it. When she’s called to an automated factory in her role as private investigator, she’s handed an impossible crime: a dead body in the trunk of a newly-built car in the middle of a factory of robots. As she digs into the mystery, she finds herself neck-deep in a political coup—and has to start making moves fast in order to get home in time to keep her partner alive. Adam Roberts rarely disappoints, and never writes the same book twice; this one, released in the U.K. last year, is a keeper.

After a prolonged absence from long-form fiction, Geralt of Rivia, a.k.a. The Witcher, returns in a tale set before the events of the short story “The Witcher.” Geralt gains even more renown as a monster hunter when he kills an idr, using people as bait—but failing to protect them all in the process. With his reputation at an all-time high, he raises his fees, but finds himself accused of stealing from the crown and thrown into jail. When he finally secures his release, he learns that his steel and silver swords—the tools of a Witcher—have been stolen, and he sets off on a quest to retrieve them. This, of course, proves more difficult than it should be—and now that he’s without his weapons, his enemies are gathering like storm clouds on the horizon.

The month’s other essential look back at the year that was. Edited by World Fantasy Award winner Jonathan Strahan, this huge collection sports some of the sharpest short form writing in the genre from the past year. Standout stories include “Don’t Press Charges and I Won’t Sue” by Charlie Jane Anders, “The Moon is Not a Battlefield” by Indrapramit Das, “The Lamentation of their Women” by Kai Ashante Wilson, and “The Secret Life of Bots” by Suzanne Palmer. Though make no mistake, these are all standouts, really; Strahan has selected well, and every single one is worth reading, either because you already love the writer, or because you’re about to discover a new favorite.

Caruso’s second in the Swords and Fire Series (after The Tethered Mage) opens with the threat of war smothering the Venice-like Raverra. The Witch Lords of Vaskandar are preparing to invade, but first they must observe ancient law and call a gathering of the 17 lords to vote. Lady Amalia Cornaro sees Raverra’s only slim hope in this delay—and she and her tethered mage, Zaira, head into enemy territory to do whatever they must to ensure that the conclave of lords turns away from invasion—disobeying orders from Raverra’s ruling council and putting their lives in danger in a desperate bid to save the empire.

During World War II, Tom and Ben meet amid the Blitz while working on a project to render British targets invisible to German instruments. Teamed in close quarters, they find themselves falling in love during a period in history when such relationships are dangerous. Then something goes wrong with the project, and Ben and Tom disappear. No bodies are ever found, and the pair are presumed dead. Solving the mystery of what happened to them will fall into the hands of a grizzled old collector of those rare objects, physical books, in a time a few decades hence; tracing odd clues left in handmade copies of a particular poetry book, the booksellers begins to discover the secrets of a romance unbound by time. This slender novella is a chance of pace from an an author known for his densely plotted future fables (River of Gods), but it loses none of its emotional power for a lack of additional pages.

For two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s best science fiction & fantasy books.

Anne Bishop returns to the universe of the Others in this standalone novel set in the town of Sproing in the Finger Lakes region. After a brutal divorce, Vicki DeVine takes possession of the Jumble, a compound of rotting buildings near Lake Silence she intends to turn into a resort. Vicki is a normal human, however, and completely unaware that in an area like this—where the shape-shifting Others are dominant—it’s their rules, that matter, and Vicki is unaware that her lodger Aggie Crowe is an Other. When a dead body turns up on the property, the police seem intent on pinning the murder on Vicki, who soon realizes the man was part of an effort led by her ex-husband to ruin her and take back the Jumble. While Vicki learns to navigate the dangers of living with the Others, her ex and his sketchy allies discover that crossing the Others is never a good idea. Bishop fans who lamented the “ending” of the series in Etched in Bone will be happy to learn the author hasn’t missed a single step.

The fifth book in the Alpha and Omega series (spun off from the long-running Mercy Thompson saga) finds Charles Cornick and Anna Latham living as a mated werewolf pair, stepping into the role of pack leaders and watching over the Wildings, werewolves too dangerous to live with the pack formally, but existing on the fringes and still in need of protection. When a Wilding is kidnapped, Charles and Anna set off to the rescue, but there’s an unknown enemy circling the pack. As Charles and Anna seek to protect the Wildlings and discover the identity of their enemy, they will be tested like never before. Briggs crafts another addictive volume of urban fantasy sprung from Native American lore and legends.

The Mod Squad meets magical bureaucracy! Magically-gifted Donovan, Marci, and Susan are all recruited by The Foundation, responsible for regulating and monitoring magic and the supernaturally gifted, and for keeping magic secret from the everyday human world. In return for minimum wage, the trio struggles with paperwork, expense reports, and all the other frustrations of a bureaucracy even as they set off to identify and stop an assassin using illegal magic to carry out their hits. As they dig into the mystery and get mired in red tape, they all begin to wonder—is the Foundation really the good guys in all of this? What’s the story behind the organization’s ancient enemies, The Mystici? What of the rumors of a mole operating from within? And what moral obligations do sorcerers have to us mundanes, anyway? Brust crafts another intriguing high-concept procedural that sits nicely alongside the Incrementalists novels.

The novelization of the most recent entry in the stories franchise is more than your average page-to-screen affair. Writer Jason Fry worked with director Rian Johnson to deepen the story and incorporate scenes deleted from or not present in the theatrical film, to the point that the book is billed as an “expanded edition.” Yes, it’s going to tell the same story as the film—Rey’s training with Luke Skywalker, Finn heist-style adventure to help the desperate Resistance, and Kylo Ren’s continuing issues with hating everything and everyone—but it is more than just a the same flavors in a new package, offering greater insights into the events depicted in the film. That’s more than enough to make it a must-read for every Star Wars—and the exclusive Barnes & Noble edition also includes a 16-page photo insert you’ll find nowhere else.

In Quandis, everyone is a slave to someone. The royals, living in comfort and luxury, are slaves to the gods, performing their duties as carefully as any servant. All others are slaves to the royals—or they are part of the Bajuman, a caste below even slaves able only be priests, or to be killed. This system works in part because the use of magic has been limited, and because everyone has been conditioned to know their proper place—but still, beautiful, ambitious Princess Phela chafes at the limitations around her. Even though she knows the dangers of magic, and knows there are others in line for the throne ahead of her, she embarks on an ambitious plan for her own advancement, threatening the balance of the entire world. To accomplished novelists team up for the engrossing start to a propulsive, accessible fantasy epic.

In the near future, the world finds itself suddenly invaded by dragons—actual fire-and-smoke breathing dragons. While the firefighters of the world become the first line of defense against the monsters, a small number of people immune to dragon smoke are drafted into the elite anti-dragon force known as the Smoke Eaters. Cole Brannigan was a firefighter for 20 years before the dragons came, and has been battling them ever since. On the verge of retirement, he suddenly discovers he’s able to withstand dragon smoke, and quickly becomes a rookie in the Smoke Eaters, the low man on the ladder, but tasked with a monumentally important new mission. When they stumble onto a conspiracy, Brannigan and his fellow Smoke Eaters have no choice but to protect their city and its people on their own, no matter the cost. In his debut, Grigsby more than delivers on a truly perfect premise—which is to say, this book is as fun as it sounds.

Katsu reimagines the horror of the Donner Party as a tale of supernatural terror and the genetic legacy of evil. In 1846, George Donner is leading his party of families westward when they discover letters left behind by previous travelers warning them to turn around or die. Everyone in the party is escaping something back east, and as they find mutilated bodies that appear to have been ritualistically sacrificed, they find not the wide-open spaces of the untouched wilderness, but walls closing in, crushing them. Eventually, a kind of insanity settles over them all, and they focus their hate—and sudden craving for human flesh, transmitted almost like a disease—on Donner’s wife Tamsen. This is a horrific alternate history that asks whether evil can be caught like a disease, or if it’s always there, in the blood.

The second Streets of Maradaine novel (and the seventh novel to take place in the fictional city of the same name) finds the neighborhood of North Seleth still reeling from the Holver Alley fire, a deliberate act of arson intended to drive the residents out. The Holver Alley crew, led by brothers Asti and Verci, have already brought street justice down upon the people who set the blaze, but the ones truly responsible have remained elusive. When clues point to the aristocrat Lord Henterman, Asti hatches a plot to infiltrate the noble household to find proof—but encounters his old lover-turned-betrayer Liora Rand already there, ensconced as Lady Henterman. As a rival gang and political developments complicate life for everyone in the neighborhood, the tense game of cat and mouse between Lord Henterman, Liora, and the Holver Alley crew leads Asti to the secrets contained in Lady Henterman’s wardrobe.

Seanan McGuire jumps back into the tongue-in-cheek urban fantasy world of the InCryptid series. The seventh book picks up where the last left off, with Antimony Price on the run and on her own. As cryptozoologists, the Price family has dedicated themselves to protecting the hidden magical creatures of the world, and to keep everyone safe, Antimony must hide—and what better place to do so than Lowryland, the largest amusement park in Florida? There, she intends to lay low and make plans, but she finds herself surrounded by magic and magical creatures, and, soon enough, drawn into a mystery. Accidents begin to plague the park, and a corpse reveals Antimony’s presence to the folks who run Lowryland—a secret group of powerful magic users. They want Antimony and her powers for themselves, and she finds herself caught, desperate and alone. McGuire is famously an obsessive fan of theme parks, and her enthusiasm for the setting makes this the most entertaining installment of the series yet.

Karsman is the de facto leader of a planet on the edges of civilization where the Muljaddy, a benign religious order, dominate everything, trading wages and food for simple devotion and prayer, and spurring a thriving economy dealing in the artifacts of a long-dead civilization. Karsman has risen to his position of authority in part due to the many personalities in his head, each with their own set of skills and experience, all of which fight daily for control of his body. When a group of mercenaries arrive hunting a mysterious woman, their failure to locate her leads them to slowly ratchet up their campaign of terror, until they’re challenging the Muljaddy itself—and Karsman begins to use the various skills his many personas possess to protect the planet and the people who live there. McIntyre’s debut offers an impressive, original twist on the classic superhero story, and a fascinating, hugely complex lead character—who’s really many characters in one.

All you really need to know about Quietus is that one of the main characters is a transdimensional anthropologist—when’s the last time you read a book with one of those as the protagonist? Anthropologist Habidah’s universe is beset by a deadly plague. By way of study, she’s been assigned to research a similar calamity in our universe, and is dispatched to witness the Black Death as it swiftly decimates Florence. Moved by the tragic scene of a young Carthusian monk named Niccolucio, who watches as one after another of his brothers succumbs to the disease, Habidah breaks all the rules and saves him. This merciful act sets off a chain reaction that ultimately reveals there’s more to the plague in Habidah’s own universe than a simple illness, and her assignment to observe our world is not the task she believed it to be. There is a conspiracy at work, threatening to destroy a huge empire—and now, she and Niccolucio are part of it. The bells and whistles of sci-fi with the depth and worldbuilding of historical fiction make this another standout Angry Robot debut.

The first book in Redick’s (The Charthand Voyages) new series The Fire Sacraments takes place on the war-torn and blood-soaked continent of Urrath. Squabbling brothers Kandri and Mektu have been drafted into the army of an insane prophet, and their daily survival depends on pretending to be true believers—a script Mektu, who thinks he sees demons, has trouble sticking to. When the brothers are blamed for an assassination—the prophet’s army believes them to be professional killers—they must flee into the desert known as “the Land that Eats Men” in order to survive. There, they meet an array of strange and deadly allies and enemies, and learn a secret that could change the course of Urrath’s history for better or much, much worse—if they can survive long enough to reveal it. Redick’s long-awaited return to fantasy is the start of a truly satisfying epic.

The third book in the Manticore Ascendant series finds the Star Kingdom in disarray after a series of devastating attacks by mercenaries sent by an unknown enemy across impossible distances. The Royal Manticoran Navy is in shambles, but even worse is the political danger they face, as an anti-Navy faction in the government gains power and influence, determined to destroy the kingdom’s only hope in the shortsighted pursuit of political gain. Officers Travis Long and Lisa Donnelly must gather every ally they can find—old and new, trustworthy and otherwise—in order to shore up defenses both internal and external before the next attack…provided they aren’t betrayed by their own government first.

In this epic fantasy inspired by Norse myths, Aelthric, King of Thyrsland is hit with a magical curse that puts him into a coma. His five daughters work to keep the king’s ailment a secret to prevent their hated stepbrother from using it to his advantage in his quest for the throne. When they hear of a witch living far to the North who might be able to lift the curse, they set off to find her—but the five daughters have five distinct personalities that often come into conflict, even as their unique abilities serve as both their greatest strengths and biggest weaknesses. Warlike Bluebell, devout Willow, passionate Rose, flighty Ivy, and magically-gifted Ash must find common ground as they face dangerous obstacles in their efforts to save their father and preserve the kingdom—and time is quickly running out.

Wilson collects 14 stories linked by the general theme of artificial intelligence, including a few set in the universes of his bestselling novels Robopocalypse and Clockwork Dynasty. The stories are dark but oddly human: a young boy links the brain implant that fends off his seizures to a robot intelligence; a scientist finds a way to spend one last day with his young daughter; a robot designed to protect a child rises from the dead over and over again, determined to serve out its programming; a virtual avatar pines for his true love in a digital simulacrum. Lark Iron Cloud from Robopocalypse and Elena Petrova from Clockwork Dynasty make welcome appearances in other stories, and the result is an unusually cohesive collection that nevertheless offers plenty of variety.

A sudden, swift war between Pakistan and India results in the northern hemisphere being trapped in an endless night, the sun shrouded by a nuclear winter. New Yorkers, naturally enough, quickly adapt—even as rising waters change the geography of the city—and a whole new way of living is established. In this new world, homicide detective Jon Phillips must keep working his beat. He is called into the mayor’s office and instructed to track down a serial killer within 24 hours—and informed that the end of the unnatural night is coming. The event is expected to spark incredible chaos, with riots and unrest throughout the city—and Jon must find the killer before the potential collapse of law and order. Arrayed against him are a virulent criminal underground, political gamesmanship, and the power-hungry leader of a private security company seeking to set himself as the enforcer for the entire city—not to mention the coming dawn. Ares imbues a solid procedural setup with a SFnal backdrop that stands apart.

As the third and (for now) final novel in the Nebula Award-nominated Arcadia Project series opens, the organization, which works as liaison between humanity and the realm of the fae, has collapsed in spectacular fashion. Its U.K. office head, Dame Belinda, has been denounced by the American side of the project for atrocities she’s committed—but Belinda isn’t going down without a fight. Millie Roper, our eyes on this hidden bureaucracy, sees her partner in Los Angeles framed for murder, part of an aggressive bid to stifle opposition. Though reeling from a setback in her mental health (she has borderline personality disorder), Millie is forced to step up and take the fight to Belinda. She concocts a risky heist in London that could neutralize the threat. It might also destroy the Project entirely, and put all of humanity at risk. Tasked with saving the world, Millie isn’t certain she can save herself, as everything hurtles towards a heartbreaking finale that pays off on all the storylines that Baker has built across three books.

In the second installment of Josiah Bancroft’s Books of Babel, Thomas Senlin, now going by the name of Captain Tom Mudd and captaining the crew of an airship, finds himself in the peculiar situation of trying to break back into the Tower of Babel after putting so much effort into breaking out in February’s Senlin Ascends. Tom is still searching for his wife Marya, who vanished at the foot of the tower, in the meantime trying his hand at “gentlemanly piracy” in order to survive—and having very little luck at it. When his ship makes contact with the Sphinx, the genius inventor who oversees everything in the Tower, Thomas is given a seemingly straightforward quest that’s truly anything but—retrieve a particular book from a library. Anyone who knows anything about the Tower and its endlessly squabbling “ringdoms” knows nothing is ever as it first appears. The former schoolteacher-turned-failed pirate will go from the slave tunnels of the Tower and into ringdoms thought lost forever as this monumental word-of-mouth hit continues (book three, The Hod King, arrives in December).

In the 23rd century, the human population of Earth is just emerging from underground shelters as the planet recovers from an ecological disaster. Minh works with a team of scientists using advanced technology to restore the planet’s environmental balance—but then the development of working time travel technology robs her project of funding and interest, as everyone wonders why it’s worth bothering to fix the future when the past offers a perfect refuge. When Minh and her team have the chance to travel back to prehistoric Mesopotamia as part of a project to restore the ecosystem of the future, she must first secure funding and the support of the shadowy forces that control time travel itself—and that’s not even counting the dangerous prospect of actually exploring an ancient, hostile world. Robson has won accolades for her short fiction, and her debut novella is packed with enough invention to fill an entire novel or two (did we mention the disabled Minh’s body has been augmented with six mechanical, octopus-like robotic legs?), and a narrative style that will force you to sit up and pay attention.

Windo imagines a semi-singularity wherein the Internet connects directly to our brains—a setup called the Feed—and engineers a disaster: a sudden global conflict causes the Feed to collapse, taking most everyone’s brains with it, and leading to the utter collapse of society. In a new world without civilization, one in which people’s very identities have been overwritten by the malfunctioning Feed, Tom and Kate are among the few survivors—people who had “gone slow,” purposefully disconnecting from the Feed before the end. All this means is that they’re the ones left scrabbling to establish a new community among those who remain, with only hardcopy books offering useful information—and everyone still has those brain implants, meaning Tom and Kate trade watches while they sleep, lest they be “taken over.” When their daughter Bea is kidnapped, the pair must leave the bare-bones security of their tent city to save her, sifting through a post-apocalyptic world of endless, grinding digital withdrawal. Some of the team behind AMC’s The Walking Dead are already planning to adapt this one for television, which tells you a little something about what you’re in for.

Karen Memery—horsebreaker, seamstress, and probable former prostitute—returns in a novella-length follow-up to 2015’s Karen Memory. We rejoin her taking in an evening’s entertainment in the alternate gold-rush Alaska with her steampunk mad scientist partner Priya. When the presence of spiritualists the Arcadia Sisters stirs up strange phenomena, Karen deduces that a tommyknocker, normally a denizen of Alaskan gold mines, is living in the basement of the hotel. Aligning with the Arcadias and stage magician Mrs. Micajah Horner, Karen rushed to stave off a disaster that could end with all the hotel’s guests dead—and manages to drive away Priya in the process, leaving her with a second emergency to deal with. Bear plans to return to Karen’s story in a few more novellas, and it’s great to spend time with these characters again.

The third novel in the planned six-part Song of Shattered Sands saga opens in the wake of the Night of Endless Swords, a bloody battle that saw the Kings of Sharakhai barely emerge triumphant. Even as they seek to consolidate their victory over the Moonless Host, they’re falling into squabbling amongst themselves, each plotting to push the others aside and claim power for themselves. When our former pit-fighter hero Çeda locates the Moonless Host, she realizes just how slim their chances of survival are—especially when she learns that the King of Sloth is raising an army to march against the other nobles. She makes a desperate plan to free the asirim—powerful, deathless slaves of the Kings—even as the King of Swords arrives to track her down and bring her to justice. Beaulieu specializes in deep worldbuilding that serves to illuminate his fascinating characters, making this one of the most intriguing and satisfying fantasy epics running.

Bringing serious politics into fantasy literature is a prospect rife with danger, but in her debut, Miller more than pulls it off. Sophie is a dressmaker, one so talented that her ball gowns have attracted the attentions of the royal family. But it’s not just her skill with a needle that demands attention—she’s also able to stitch discrete magical charms into the garments: for love, for luck, for protection. Her rise in court brings her into contact with a handsome duke, and her fortunes seem assured—until her brother Kristos becomes involved with the rising proletariat revolution. When her brother is taken hostage by the resistance, Sophie is ordered to sew a curse into the Queen’s dress or watch her brother be executed. Hamilton-meets-stitchpunk magic? Yes, please.

Inspired by King Lear, Tessa Gratton’s adult fantasy debut has earned comparisons to the work of Guy Gavriel Kay. It tells the story of Innis Lear, an island kingdom long protected by wild magic. But the king—obsessed with prophecies—has grown unreliable and erratic, and magic has nearly disappeared as a result. His three daughters encourage him to choose an heir, a strong monarch who can bring the magic back, but the king refuses to do so until a day specified by prophecy, leaving the island vulnerable to invasion in the meantime. The daughters, as different as can be, prepare for war—but how can they defend their home when their own house is divided and weak? Gratton’s editor Miriam Weinberg hasn’t stopped talking about this book on Twitter for months, and you’ll definitely want to see what all the hype is about.

Edited by Ellen Datlow, this collection of maritime-themed horror stories features tales from Alyssa Wong, Christopher Golden, Seanan McGuire, Stephen Graham Jones, and many others. A young woman finds her life affected by a friend’s death in ways she couldn’t have anticipated; a whaling ship is trapped in the icy arctic, its crew assailed by a force it doesn’t understand; a refugee in America becomes involved with the son of the King Under the Waves. These stories vary in tone and effect, but are linked by our shared primordial fear of the ocean depths—an environment deadly to us, despite being an essential to our survival. It is sure to delight horror fans of all sensibilities.

If you’ve ever wondered why more zombie apocalypse stories don’t bother to detail the slow boil of civilization’s decline, this is the book for you. Matthew Munson is 17 and doesn’t do much with his time aside from compete in video game tournaments. He particularly favors an aging game called Bash Bash Revolution. When his father, Jeff—gone for the last decade as he worked on a mysterious, government-funded artificial intelligence called Bucky—suddenly returns, he insists that he and Matthew enter gaming tournaments together as a way to bond, but it quickly becomes obvious that Jeff’s skill at Bash Bash Revolution isn’t accidental, and is of greater import than he ever dreamed. Soon Jeff is asking for Matthew’s help in beating the game—which will give him insight to fixing Bucky, whose intelligence is unraveling, threatening to take society along with it. That this bleakly comic tale is told from a future in which Matthew observes “zombies” shambling about in VR goggles gives you an idea of just how dark this one is going to get.

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases.

Khaim is the last city left from a crumbled empire that became overreliant on magic, overusing it until it turned toxic. Magic is outlawed in Khaim both so its ruler, the Jolly Mayor, can consolidate magical power in his own hands and because the use of magic encourages the growth of bramble, a deadly vine that puts people into comas when nearby or kills instantly with a thorn-prick. Written as four novellas (two by each author; two of them previously published and two of them new), this environmentalist fantasy tells the story of a city being strangled by a polluted and misused natural resource—which doesn’t stop bad actors from trying to use it to further their own power and control. As a brilliant alchemist tries to find a way to stop bramble, a group of women warriors fight against encroaching tyranny.

Brodsky concludes her gods-in-Manhattan trilogy with a writhing, complex story that begins with Selene DiSilva, a.k.a. the goddess Artemis, hunting her grandfather, Saturn, and the remnants of his cult, which is still targeting Selene’s friends. If she’s going to finally stop them she will have to finally turn and face her own past. Meanwhile, her mortal lover Theo, believing her to be dead, seeks a way to bring her back. It all leads to a confrontation on Mount Olympus itself, as the surviving gods gather for the first time in centuries and Selene must truly face what it means to be an embodiment of Artemis, a goddess whose family once ruled from Olympus.

Sue Burke’s Day Job is in translation, and her impressive debut novel is focused on communication, telling a planetary colonization story with a twist. As the Earth nears environmental collapse, a colony ship is launched in a desperate bid to ensure humanity’s survival. The ship is forced to land on an unexpected planet, which the colonists name Pax—and which is populated by sentient plants and other life. Each chapter is told by a member of a subsequent generation of the humans, who forge a symbiotic bond with Pax’s native life. But that relationship isn’t always comforting; unlike on Earth, on Pax, humanity isn’t sitting on top of the food chain, and communicating with plants is a complex art.

Heloise is a poor peasant girl with ambitions—but the world she lives in is a dangerous and unfair one in which wizards lurk in hiding, suddenly transforming into portals that allow monstrous demons to invade. Against this chaos stand pious knights who hunt and destroy the wizards—but the knights can be almost as dangerous, massacring entire villages on suspicions of wizardry, killing others for little or no reason. When Heloise and her village are forced to assist the knights in destroying their neighbors based on false charges, she rebels and sets off down a dangerous path, with demons on one side and zealots on the other.

Dietz concludes his America Rising trilogy with an intense final chapter. Major Robin “Mac” Macintyre has been named a war criminal by her own father, who believes she’s responsible for the death of her sister, making life even harder for Mac’s troops as they fight a series of brutal battles and the second Civil War races towards a bloody conclusion. The New Confederacy gambles on a surprising strategy to achieve victory, and Mac and her ex-con soldiers on the Union side find themselves in the thick of it, fighting for their lives as bounty hunters swarm to collect the price on her head. Mac is ordered into Mexico to free Union POWs and capture a necessary oil field—but ultimately the cost of victory for the North might be the life of her own father, General Bo Macintyre.

Dyer’s sequel to Crossroads of Canopy tells the story of Imeris, who has trained rigorously to be the greatest warrior and hunter in competition with her goddess sister and her beautiful, charming brother. Smarting from the complete failure of her self-imposed mission to hunt and kill the sorceress Kirrik, Imeris goes into hiding—and then climbs the huge trees of the forest up to the sunny world of Canopy in order to learn how to finally defeat the sorceress. There she’s surprised to be recruited into a hunt for the ages chasing down a magical monster. Finally, Imeris has found a challenge that will test every bit of her strength, resolve, and ability—with absolutely no guarantee of success.

Ellsworth’s ridiculously entertaining take on gritty space opera reaches its conclusion in the rapid-fire third installment of the Starfire trilogy, returning us to a diverse universe of giant bugs and intergalactic civil war. John Starfire has become the new ruler of the Empire, destroying lives and planets in his bid to eradicate humanity. All that stands in his way is Jaqi, once an aimless drifter, now caught up in events much larger than herself. And then there’s the matter of the massive, sun-eating spiders, who have emerged from the darkest corners of the galaxy to consume everything in their path—in the face of a threat like that, petty human and alien squabbles like war and genocide seem a bit less consequential, don’t they? If you’ve yet to start this series, you’ve no more reason to delay—snap up the complete trilogy now.

Donovan is a paradise planet: a perfect climate and a breathable atmosphere, rich in every resource. But it’s far away, and surviving there comes at a price. When Supervisor Kalico Aguila arrives in orbit, she finds an opportunity: Donovan is in chaos, its colonial government overthrown, the population running wild, and only a small pocket of order remaining. Kalico knows she could take control and wind up the most powerful woman in the solar system, or die trying. Planetside, Talina Perez struggles to maintain the foothold of law and order in Port Authority—but more than just a population gone wild, the planet itself has its own designs. As if that weren’t enough, a ghost ship soon arrives in orbit, the crew dead of old age, and evidence of a death ritual sending a warning to everyone. Gear is also the author, along with his wife Kathleen O’Neal Gear, of more than 50 other novels, many of them historical tales, and he brings that same sense of authenticity of place to this sci-fi thriller.

Built upon dried lava beds at the foot of a massive volcano, Soot City is a twisted version of 1920s Chicago that exists in a world where magic and magical creatures are very real—and are outlawed under laws akin to Prohibition. Daisy Dell is a thoroughly modern girl who arrives in the big city with a few magical trinkets she inherited from her grandmother and a determination to make the city hers. Finding work at an underground Mana factory where the illegal magical elixir is made pays the bills—but also puts Daisy in danger. Bounty hunters start working the streets of Soot City, hunting magicians, and Daisy quickly finds herself directly in their path, forced to decide whether to hang onto her magic or play it safe.

Set in an alternate England where magically-gifted Equals rule over the masses of “Skilless” with aristocratic cruelty, James’ sequel to Gilded Cage finds the rebellion against the Equals in disarray. The rebels have been framed for the assassination of Chancellor Zelston, leader of Parliament—specifically, Abi Hadley’s brother Luke. As a result, Abi and her family are forced to live in the worst of the slavetowns, Millmoor, while Luke is given into the custody of a cruel Equal who seeks to break him, physically and mentally. Abi plots to rescue her brother before he’s lost, with the unexpected help of an Equal boy who has sympathies with the rebels—but the political complexities of both the ruling class and the uprising complicate matters. James’ debut more than delivered on an ingenious premise, and this sequel only raises the stakes and widens a fascinating dystopian setting.

In the SFF world there are mashups, and there are mashups, and the moment you read the title of Kessel’s new novel—expanded from his award-winning novella—you know you’re in for something extraordinary. After her sisters have married well, Mary Bennett (of Pride and Prejudice fame) is bored…until she meets the haunted but handsome Victor Frankenstein at a party in London. Sucked into the plot of another novel altogether, Mary becomes a part of Frankenstein’s Monster’s plan to force the scientist to create a bride for him, a free-fall into the unimaginable Mary handles with the expected Bennett aplomb. After a decade without a new novel, Kessel wowed us with last year’s The Moon and the Other; that he has returned again so soon, and with such a different sort of book, is some kind of miracle.

The Song of All, by Tina LeCount Myers
(February 20, Skyhorse Publishing—Paperback)

Inspired by indigenous Scandinavian cultures, Myers tells the story of Irjan, a legendary hunter and warrior in a arctic world where human mortals battle immortal tribes, both serving the same gods. Old and weary, Irjan breaks his oaths and walks away from endless war to be a farmer and raise a family. But the corrupt priests of his home conspire with the warriors he abandoned and use his family as a bargaining chip, forcing him back into the fray. Trying to save his son, Irjan encounters an immortal who also has given birth, and he soon finds himself safeguarding both children in a violent universe. His only path to their survival seems likely to be both bloody and brutal.

In a future in which Earth maintains mining operations on the moon amidst escalating tensions on the planet’s surface, Caden Dechert, chief of the United States’ station, manages to keep a reasonable relationship with his Chinese counterpart despite the echoing of the drums of war. But when petty sabotage and theft turns into murder, things begin to spin out of control in the unforgiving environment of the barren, airless moon. As the body count rises, Dechert must balance his desperate investigation into the crimes against his efforts to talk some sense into his superiors planetside. The title refers to the moon’s ever-present scent of gunpowder, an ill omen if there ever was one. Former journalist Pedreira gets the worldbuilding right, but it’s the suspense that truly keeps the pages turning.

R.A. Salvatore, creator of the legendary elven warrior Drizzt Do’urden, returns with the first book in a completely original fantasy world. In the land of Corona, survival against the forces of nature and magic is never a given. The Usgar are a warlike tribe that prey on the less-savage settlements below their mountain homes, protected by the crystal magic practiced by the women of the tribe, a coven of witches that nevertheless lives under the heel of the warrior men. Young Aoleyn may be the strongest witch ever born to the Usgar, but she is fated, like most of the women of the tribe, to be married and brutalized. As she desperately tries to master her control over magic in order to secure her own freedom, she is targeted by the greatest—and cruelest—warrior of the tribe, and also by the demon that hunts all who wield the power of the crystals. Meanwhile, a survivor of plague and a rare outsider trader in the insular area of Corona seeks his own destiny, tracking the attacks and deprivations of the Usgar and undoubtedly moving towards deeper involvement with Aoleyn in future books.

In 1997, NCIS special agent Shannon Moss is tracking a missing Navy SEAL wanted for murder. Using top-secret military technology, she is able to travel back and forth in time in order to gather clues—though the futures she travels to are only possible futures, not fixed, and thus not admissible as evidence. As she gathers clues to the SEAL’s whereabouts, she notes that every possible future she visits is doomed by the same cataclysmic event—an alien intrusion known as the White Hole. Her investigations begin to center more on gathering clues as to how this cataclysm took place and to disrupt the events that will lead to it—yet through it all, she must avoid becoming trapped in one of the endless time loops known as “thin space.” Though shelved with the literary fiction, The Gone World is high concept sci-fi to the core.

Seeking to escape an unhappy life in England, Hallie follows in the footsteps of many young women before her and moves to Paris. Securing a job as a bartender at expat bar Millie’s, she finds herself taken under the wing of Gabriela, who introduces her to the magical evening world around her. But then, strange things begin to happen—birds and animals offer Hallie ominous warnings, and a woman arrives at the bar claiming to be a “chronometrist,” an expert is the measurement of time. And that’s before Hallie finds a time portal in the keg room of Millie’s, and begins traveling to the Paris of the future and the past—each time losing a bit of herself in the process. Soon, her own future begins to seem less and less familiar.

Originally published by Jeff and Ann Vandermeer in 2012, Tidbeck’s first English-language collection of short fiction tends towards the lush and the fertile, standing in contrast to her English-language debut Amatka, which is a surreal, paranoid story set on a barren and utterly alien colony. In the thirteen stories collected in Jaganaath, Tidbeck displays a knack for concepts simultaneously beautiful and bleak: stories that explore depression in the face of perfect love, a loneliness that drives someone to create a vegetable child, an impossible love for an airship. Tidbeck’s incredible control of language in the service of fantastic,often disturbing ideas makes it ambushes the reader in stories like “Pyret,” which begins as a traditional fantasy concept told in the form of an academic paper, then slowly transforms into something much more personal and unexpected.

The sequel to Hunger Makes the Wolf finds Hob Ravani and the Ghost Wolves biker gang promoted from criminals to resistance fighters. Hob used her powers to pull off a spectacular train job in the first book, breaking TransRift Inc.’s hold on her part of Tanegawa’s World—but the company, having finally found the source of a strange mineral that powers their Weathermen to rifts in space and time and allowing for interstellar travel, won’t walk away from the planet that easily. War is coming, and the rebels prepare by creating a new kind of Weatherman, dubbed Mr. Yellow, that is more powerful than any previous model. The diverse and restless people of Tanegawa’s World are tired of being oppressed, and are fighting back not just through magic, violence, and resistance—but through unionization and organization. Illustrating the power of the people even against enormous odds and soulless corporations—this is SFF for 2018 for sure.

Gareth L. Powell is the mad genius behind the Ack-Ack Macaque trilogy, a British Science Fiction Award-winning saga of alt-history warfare and an uplifted monkey fighter pilot welding a machine gun. Sounds ridiculous, sure, but he managed to twist the premise in service of some really smart sci-fi, and he only tops himself in Embers of War, which turns some of our favorite space opera tropes (including sentient starships) to eleven. Trouble Dog was a vessel built for war, but after the conflict is over, the artificial mind at its core feels regret for its role int he conflict. She joins the House of Reclamation, a sort of rescue organization for trouble starships. Shortly after, she and a small human crew of miscreants are tasked with discovering what has happened to a passenger ship that has gone missing in disputed space. One of the missing ship’s passengers, Ona Sudak, is a reknowned poet, but was also living a dangerous double life, the facts of which are teased out by government intelligence officer Ashton Chide, who uncovers secrets that could plunge the galaxy into war yet again—unless Trouble Dog can figure out how to stop it.

Over the past few years, Small Beer Press has become a reliable source of outstanding literary-leaning speculative fiction collections, and they continue the trend in 2018 with this assembly of stories from writer and physicist Vandana Singh, who has been published in venues from Lightspeed, to Clarkesworld, to Tor.com. The wide-ranging stories found here include “Oblivion: A Journey,” an SF revenge tale steeped in Hindu mythology, and the title tale, presented in the form of an engineering exam that considers the classification of three new types of machine life. Ingenious stuff.

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases.

Brown kicks off a whole new trilogy set in the Red Rising universe with this story set about 10 years after Darrow finished the job of destroying the social order of the entire system. He and Mustang lead the Solar Republic, but you can’t smash an empire into pieces without causing some collateral damage, and it turns out running a multi-planet civilization is much more difficult than disrupting it. In addition to the usual woes successful revolutionaries run into, there’s also Lysander au Lune, the heir to the throne, moving freely through space and waiting for a chance to act, and a mysterious new threat coming from outside the solar system itself. Fans of Brown’s first trilogy have come to expect complex, flawed characters, awesome technology, and fierce battles, so good thing the chaos of a ruined empire is fertile ground for all three.

Kelly Gay takes on the challenge of expanding the universe of Halo, one of the most iconic in video games. Rion Forge is a salvager, flitting around the universe in a speedy ship and laying claim to the detritus of war. When she and her crew stumble upon the wreckage of a UNSC cruiser, it should be the score of a lifetime—but while working the wreck, they discover something that has Rion suddenly haunted by memories of her father, and the mystery surrounding his ship Spirit of Fire. This intimate, small-scale adventure picks up where Gay’s short story in Halo: Fractures left off.

If you’re a fan of Doctor Who—and really, who isn’t?—this is the perfect book for you. Modeled on the Guinness Book of World Records, this illustrated book includes every fact you’ve ever wanted to know about the Doctor, his companions, and the fictional universe they occupy, from the first human being to time travel, to a listing of the biggest explosions ever. Not only is this hours of absorbing reading for the true Whovian, it’s also the ideal way to settle any and all Who-related bets—especially the kind that can be handled via the full-color illustrations that accompany most of the entries.

Set in a future where Asia—called Asiana—is a depopulated wasteland centuries after a Great War devastated the world, this is the story of Kyra, the lone survivor of an attack on her village by an outlaw gang. Kyra has risen to become a Markswoman, a psychic warrior charged with carrying out executions with her psychically-aware daggers, gifted to her by mysterious visitors from the stars. Kyra’s first act is to assassinate the leader of the gang that destroyed her home, a decision that forces her to run from her own. She sets out to train with the all-male Order of the Khur in preparation to battle the leader of her own Order of Kali—a legendary warrior. Working under the morally conflicted Rustan, leader of the Order of the Khur, Kyra quickly finds her life becoming only more complicated with each passing day.

Sagara’s long-running series (this is book 13) feels like urban fantasy set in a traditional fantasy universe. This one finds protagonist Kaylin feeling a bit crowded in the sentient building named Helen she calls home—a situation exacerbated when Annarion decides the time is right to pursue the Barrani Test of Name. His friends decide to help him, and their combined power would be enough to destroy the entire city of Elantra if not for Helen’s own not-insignificant power. The real problem is the controversial nature of Annarion’s friends—recently freed from imprisonment, they threaten the very social order of the city. The resulting cracks in the long-held structure of the world means Kaylin finds herself working overtime to keep the shadows beneath the city in check—a job that gets harder every day.

If you’d given up on seeing a sequel to Reynolds’ 2007 The Prefect, you can celebrate this return to the Glitter Band, that collection of utopian habitats orbiting the planet Yellowstone. Each habitat is a different utopia specific to its residents; what makes it all work is the vote every citizen has, an instantaneous decision regarding every issue facing society, made in real time via neural implant. After the disruptive events of The Prefect, faith in the Panoply—the police force charged with maintaining the sanctity of the vote—is on the wane. When citizens’ neural implants begin malfunctioning, killing them horribly, the Panoply’s Prefect Dreyfus faces his greatest challenge as the Glimmer Band begins descending into chaos. Because without the vote, the Glimmer Band will fly apart.

Last year’s Empire Games—an excellent introduction to Stross’ long-running Merchant Princes series—introduced a triple-layered alternate universe: one blasted by devastating nuclear war, one in which the United States is thriving as a police state, and one in which the U.S. never existed and the United Kingdom has sunk into a rotting world power. World-walkers can move from one timeline to the other, and this knowledge breeds paranoia, as the U.S. in one timeline fears a first-strike from another. As the U.K. in the third timeline steals technology from the U.S. in the second, the cold war increasingly threatens to very hot indeed. In timeline three, Rita Douglas, world-walker and daughter of U.K. leader Miriam Burgeson (herself a refugee from timeline one), spies on timeline two, but every move seems to lead all three universes closer to destruction. Is your head spinning yet? Stross shows remarkable skill keeping the madness.

Goodkind continues to story of the sorceress Nicci and her companions as they set off on a quest to restore Nathan’s powers after he was stripped of them in Death’s Mistress. They drove the Norukai slavers our of Renda Bay, but the price was high, and now they are guided by a prophecy offered by Red, a mysterious witch. They search for the Shroud of Eternity, behind which can be found the city of Ildakar, where Nathan might be made whole. But every step of the journey finds them facing ominous and deadly omens and enemies that make Nicci wonder: if this is the prelude, what’s waiting for them inside the shroud?

McGuire’s portal-fantastic, metafictional Wayward Children Series returns with a largely standalone effort that reintroduces the reader to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, where kids who have experienced adventures in magical realms via magic portals—think the Wardrobe that leads to Narnia—attempt to accept they are no trapped in their native, non-magical world. When Rini, the child of a Nonsense kingdom where the stars are stung with candy floss, finds herself at Eleanor West’s, she’s surprised to discover her mother died on Earth long before Rini was born, a paradox she’s going to have to fix, lest she fade away. Luckily, the home is full of talented children who are very familiar with magical quests.

The conclusion of Okorafor’s award-winning trilogy finds young Binti pulled in several directions at once. She has always seen herself as part of her mother’s tribe, the Himba, but the technology she inherited from her father’s Enyi Zinariya tribe has opened up a whole new side of the universe to her. She can communicate over long distances and see historical events as if they were happening right in front of her, and her psychic bond with the Meduse—the jellyfish-like aliens she met in Binti—complicates a tense political situation threatening the very survival of the Himba. Binti is the sole hope of this messy universe, the one person blessed and cursed with the power and perception that could set everything right—if she can find the courage and the skill.

In one of the most audacious alternate histories ever conceived, Bolander imagines a “Radium Girl”—one of the very real victims of early workplace dangers who suffers radiation poisoning from her job painting wristwatches with radioactive paint—meeting the sentient elephant that will replace her at the factory. Yes, Bolander is conflating the story of the Radium Girls with the story of Topsy, the legendary elephant cruelly electrocuted before spectators at Coney Island to promote electricity. The two women, different species, both boiling with rage against the injustice of their mistreatments, bond in a way that is wholly unexpected, leading a terrible act of justice and revenge that transcends time and history.

In an alternate world where the Luddite Revolution resulted in an all-powerful patent office in control of technological advancement—and thus, the world—peace and stability come at the price of a fierce suppression of “unseemly science.” When airships begin to disappear due to the activities of a floating pirate nation beyond the borders of civilization, the Patent Office sends a spy to find out what’s going on. Elizabeth Barnabus despises the Patent Office and its controlling, suffocating culture, but she accepts her mission, disguises herself as a man, and heads off on a grand and dangerous.

The Revelation changed everything: when the Great Spirit took over the world and transformed. Now, a person’s moral compass is reflected in their physical appearance; good people are beautiful, and bad people are ugly. Grace Luther is a teenager whose purity is apparent in her beauty, and as the daughter of a Cleric of the Great Spirit, she is secure in her faith in the world—until she is assaulted by a man who shows absolutely no outward signs of sin. When she later discovers a childhood friend who was taken away by the clerics for a supposed terrible deed is still alive and well, she begins to doubt everything she’s ever been told. Her doubt sends her on a dark journey towards the truth of the world she’s been born into.

The key to a great anthology is twofold: author selection, and theme. Wolfe and Parisian (the team behind the award-winning fairy tale anthology The Starlit Wood) nail both in this new project, gathering insanely great writers (including Seanan McGuire, John Scalzi, Ken Liu, Sarah Gailey, Annalee Newitz, and Lila Bowen, to name just a few) and asking them to choose sides. The result is an essential collection of stories exploring the eternal conflict between magic and technology—specifically in the form of robots and fairies. The question of whether mechanical or magical means would triumph in a battle royale is explored at locations both intimate (a man’s home, invaded by tiny fairies) and otherwise (an amusement park where fairies struggle to carve out a safe place among the talking automatons). Themes both humorous and serious, delivered by the best in the business. Robots and fairies battle on, and the only winners are SFF readers.

The fourth book of the irresistible Invisible Library series returns the reader to Cogman’s delightful world of dimension-hopping librarians. After a minister of the dragon queen is assassinated, a series of challenges is set up for the two candidates for his replacement. When one reaches out to librarian Irene for assistance, she feels compelled to alert the other candidate, and just like that, she’s involved—and only gets in deeper when it’s discovered the assassination involved a neophyte librarian, and Irene is assigned to investigate to ensure the Invisible Library’s survival. Traveling to a version of New York in the 1920s, Irene has to deal with gangsters and police factions (as well as two dragons in human form) as she searches desperately for a rare book that is the key to everything. After the Library’s Internal Affairs gets involved, it becomes clear that if Irene fails, it won’t just be the Library that suffers. She might not survive.

An early contender for 2018 best-of-the-year lists, Bancroft’s buzzy debut became a self-published sensation in ebook and is now arriving in paperback from Orbit (with the sequels forthcoming in short order). It’s set in a steampunk universe whose main feature is the Tower of Babel, a legendary tourist attraction that soars endlessly into the sky, shrouded in clouds. No one knows how high the tower goes, and it seems to contain an infinite number of rooms, all of them unique. Thomas, a small town schoolteacher, and his beloved wife Marya take their honeymoon at the Tower, but Thomas loses his new bride in the immense crowd milling about the base. Desperate to find her, he begins to climb the Tower in hopes of finding her. Every room he enters is a world unto itself, as detailed and deeply imagined as any described in entire novels. Thomas finds himself in a mental and physical battle with various factions and personalities as he slowly ascends the tower and learns its secrets—well, some of them, at least.

Every once in a while, along comes a debut novel that convey a sense of no-holds bared imagination. The post-apocalyptic city of Empire Island is a rotting jewel of a metropolis where two dragons, green and yellow, circle overhead endlessly, menacing the population and setting constant fires. This doesn’t stop people from going about their daily lives: reality-TV star Duncan Humphrey Ripple V is heading toward an arranged marriage with Swanny when he meets a “wild girl” named Abby outside the city limits. He brings her home and quickly decides to run away with her—just as a his mansion is assaulted by an army from the independent prison colony of Torchtown, forcing Duncan, Abby, and his fiancée to flee into the center of the city. And that’s just the setup—the story unfurls into breathtaking complexity as Duncan becomes a firefighter, Swanny winds up in Torchtown, and Abby befriends, naturally enough, a giant talking rat.

Fans of Walton will rejoice at the variety on display in this collection (though we’d expect nothing less from an author who seems determined to never write the same book twice). She offers up short stories, poetry, and plays that explore many of her favorite themes in new and interesting ways. From a tale that follows a gold coin as it changes hands on a space station to a story about a phone app that allows you to share in a loved one’s pain and loss, Walton’s lively imagination is the main selling point, as she deluges the reader with ideas. Other standouts include a story about a biographer interviewing a simulation of a 20th century subject, three brief vignettes set at a weary inn, and, oh, the poems, which are wonderful whether or not you consider yourself a fan of the form.

In a universe in which advanced artificial intelligences are outlawed after an ancient war waged by AI proxies nearly destroyed everything, sentient ships and other AIs must be very careful. Human mentors work with newly-formed minds in order to socialize them and teach them how to stay under the radar and survive a hostile universe. Theo Waitley and her sentient ship Bechimo become involved with a mission to reach an orphan AI on a ruined space station. The mind must either be rescued or destroyed, as it’s rumored to be powerful enough to destroy the universe…again. The race is on to see who will reach this mysterious new intelligence first, and what they will decide to do with it.

In a future London where intrusive technology has created a truly transparent democracy, every citizen’s thoughts and actions are known. This has created the safest society in history, but at tremendous cost to our shared humanity. When suspected dissident Diana Hunter becomes the first person to die while being interrogated, inspector Mielikki Neith is summoned to investigate what went wrong in a system that does not make mistakes. Neith is a true believer in the system, but when she accesses Hunter’s memories, she finds not a person, but a collection of characters and narratives. These false memories form a code Neith must navigate, sifting through red herrings and clues in order to piece together the truth of Hunter’s life and death—a code that offers up beautifully detailed stories-within-the-story that come together to form a riddle. Solving it is a mind-bending delight.

Wexler’s final novel of the Shadow Campaign drops us right back into a complex, violent world. The fortress city of Elysium has kept the demon known only as The Beast imprisoned far belowground for a thousand years—but the demon has escaped, and has formed an army of mind-controlled victims led by the legendary general Janus bet Vhalnich. As the army marches inexorably towards Queen Raesinia Orboan, Marcus D’Ivoire and Winter Ihernglass prepare as best they can to fight the greatest general the land has ever known. When Janus declares himself emperor, Raesinia must somehow find a way to hold onto her throne in the face of a seemingly unstoppable force, and Winter begins to realize the demon she carries within herself is perhaps the only hope they have against The Beast.

The two stories in this remarkable collection reflect each other in subtle ways. The title tale paints a picture of an apocalyptic world in which all women suddenly die in an epidemic. Strange mushroom-like things sprout from their graves, growing into beguiling, feminine shapes. Nathan, a man living in an isolated (by choice) community of men, tells the story and offers various possible explanations for the growths—food, medicine, the next stage of evolution—which the all-male community rejects, with increasingly dire consequences. The second story, “Peace, Pipe,” is told by Alex, a former interstellar diplomat now in quarantine, who hallucinates that a pipe in his cell is speaking with him. Pipe becomes a complex character in and of itself, as Alex ruminates on the disaster he caused on the planet Demeter and the possible rescue of his friend Thumbs—a mission with a steep price for all involved, even Pipe.

Miriam Black returns in the penultimate novel in Chuck Wendig’s razor-edged, adrenaline-fueled contemporary fantasy series about a woman with the power to see how anyone will die with a simple touch. By now, Miriam’s powers have given her a hard life and made her a harder person as she continues to search for a way to change her own fate and atone for her past sins. That mission becomes literal as she seeks to rescue a girl named Wren, who Miriam inadvertently set off on a dark path, pursued by the same sinister agents trailing Miriam, and forced to kill. If Miriam can help Wren, she may, in some small way, begin her own path of redemption, but that road ain’t going to be easy either…

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases.

Four novellas set in the ever-expanding Star Wars universe offer a glimpse at one of the new settings of The Last Jedi: Canto Bight, a city-sized casino where the rich and ruthless mingle to play the odds and make deals. Ahmed tells the story of a working-class salesman whose vacation in Canto Bight is twisted when he meets one of the city’s criminal class; Mira Grant follows a deal for a priceless bottle of wine that goes spectacularly bad; Rae Carson demonstrates the possibilities the casino city offers when a servant is forced to battle the elite; and Miller follows a desperate gambler who has one chance to change his luck—if he can survive the night. Four of the best SFF writers in the business offer deep dives into a place poised to rival Mos Eisley as a wretched hive of scum and villainy: this is the Star Wars book you’re looking for.

Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale was a lovely jewel of a book, and the sequel is just as precious and rare, reuniting readers with Vasya, a girl living in a 14th century Russia steeped in violence and magic. Disguising herself as a man, armed with a knife, and riding her mysterious horse Solovey, Vasya must flee her home after the death of her father, beginning another grand adventure. In the countryside, accompanied by the frost-demon Morozko, who has an unusual attraction to her, she finds bandits burning villages and kidnapping young girls. She frees several women, and makes her way to Moscow where she finds her brother, now a monk, and her sister, now a stuffy member of court. She becomes embroiled with a plot against Grand Prince Dmitrii Ivanovich and discovers her own growing power, reveling in her freedom even as a threat to the kingdom arises that only she can hope to combat.

The seventh book of The Expanse arrives, delivering the tension, narrative complexity, and human drama we expect from space opera’s answer to Game of Thrones. Survivors of the lost human colony Laconia storm Medina Station and take control of the hub of ring gates that allow access to countless worlds—while using an advanced warship built by the same semi-sentient alien protomolecules that constructed the gates themselves. Once again, the Rocinante and its crew, led by Captain James Holden, is called upon to help defend the Earth-Mars Coalition from a new threat—but old hostilities rise to the surface, and Holden and his companions aren’t sure how far they can trust those they serve. When a second alien warship is dispatched from Laconia, the equation shifts again, as the chaos of old animosities threatens to upset the balance of power. In fine style, and with breathless action and intricate politicking, Corey delivers the beginning of the end of The Expanse. It will leave you desperate for the penultimate volume. This Barnes & Noble edition features 16 pages of exclusive content.

A hallmark of the Star Wars universe is the sense that the technology and real estate that make it up are both functional and lived-in. From the sparks flying in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon to the endless button-pushing and lever-pulling, everything in the galaxy far, far away feels tangible. This beautifully designed book, the latest in a series of them, includes intricate cross-sections of 13 vehicles from the upcoming The Last Jedi, each offering a detailed view of the underlying technology and its unique capabilities and flaws. The new film promises to introduce several new ships alongside returning favorites, meaning there is a wealth of new information for die-hard fans to absorb.

The third book in the Fire Sermon trilogy returns to a post-nuclear war Earth where all newborns come in twinned sets—one Alpha, perfect in every way, and one Omega, mutated. Alpha and Omegas are linked psychically, each feeling the other’s pain and experiencing the other’s death—and Alphas are still placing their twins into stasis tanks for “safekeeping.” Omega Cass leads a rebellion against the Alphas, fueled by visions of a fresh apocalypse, but when her Alpha brother Zach comes to her with new information, she finds herself facing with an impossible puzzle: how to deal with a sibling who is her enemy, but who she can’t harm in any way—and whose presence brings out the worst in the Omegas she leads. A daring raid frees thousands of imprisoned Omegas, and Cass moves towards a final confrontation with the Alpha general she’s seen in her visions, a confrontation in which every participant will feel their wounds, their exhaustion, even their deaths—twice.

Star Wars offers one of the richest and most complex fictional universes ever built, and with The Last Jedi hitting movie screens this month, it’s about to get even bigger. Anyone who wants to keep their status as a saga expert is going to need this image-packed guide to the film, featuring the lowdown on more than 100 new characters, creatures, and settings, including droids and other assorted technology, each accompanied by detailed notes from Star Wars information guru Pablo Hidalgo.

Hunter’s third Soulwood novel follows Nell Ingram, new agent in Homeland Security’s Unit Eighteen of the Psychometry Law Enforcement Division (PsyLED), responsible for keeping tabs on the paranormal and people with special abilities. When a U.S. senator is targeted by psychometric attacks, a lab that might be experimenting on paranormals falls under suspicion—and PsyLED is called in. Nell, struggling with her recent escape from a cult and with her feelings for fellow agent Occam, is also still discovering the range and variety of her powers—some of which are expressing themselves in involuntary ways, such as the leaves and branches that grow from her neck and fingernails. As the investigation builds, the body count rises—and Nell may discover if she’s truly ready for her new life sooner than she thinks, or wants.

Newman takes a break from the main Anno Dracula books to offer a collection of 10 stories set in the same alt-history world, following Richard Jeperson, the most interesting, skilled, and famous member of the Diogenes Club, a little-known but “most essential” branch of British Intelligence with a portfolio of strategies to fight paranormal threats. Along with the beautiful Vanessa and the dutiful Fred, Jeperson investigates supernatural murders in sex shops, a ghost seeking to set off nuclear war, sentient snowmen, and Nazi zombies, all with the panache and fashion sense of go-go ‘70s.

The fifth and final book in Ken Scholes sprawling Psalms of Isaak quintet arrives with a thunderous crescendo, as the fate of The Named Lands and the world of Lasthome is finally revealed. Newcomers would be lost here (start instead with the excellent Lamentation), and longtime readers will want to steer clear of spoilers, but suffice it to say, the wait for this finale was worth it, as conflicts wage on fronts from the earth to the moon and kings and gods pick sides in the war to end all wars.

The third and final book in Sykes’ Bring Down Heaven trilogy sees Lenk freeing the demon Khoth-Kapira from its prison, believing it will rebuild the world the gods have abandoned. The remaining mortal population begins to gather under Khoth-Kapira’s banner, desperate for any hope that the world can be. In Cier’Djaal, however, the final forces of humans, tulwar, and shicts have gathered for a last-ditch confrontation, unaware of the followers Khoth-Kapira is amassing—a host Lenk is beginning to suspect will not be used to rebuild, but to destroy. Suddenly, the wars of mortals begin to seem very small indeed.

World’s End isn’t the sort of place anyone wants to be: a desert world filled with criminals, dangerous fauna, and outcasts from human society, it’s where policeman B.Z. Gundhalinu must go in search of his estranged brothers and Song, a woman infected with the sybil’s disease by the mysterious Fire Lake. Gundhalinu barely survives the journey to find Song, who is ruling over a small band of misfits—and is, in turn, ruled by Fire Lake, which appears to be imbued with a strange intelligence. When Song infects him with the sybil’s disease, Gundhalinu discovers he has his own new powers—and can hear the Lake, which tells him its surprising tale, a story of ancient technology and a sentient machine that has lost its purpose. This bridge novel is set in the same world as Vinge’s twin Hugo-nominated novels The Snow Queen and The Summer Queen, and finally back in print after far too many years.

]]>https://www.tor.com/2017/12/01/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-december-2017/feed/3Journey from Middle-earth to Distant Planets in Barnes & Noble Booksellers Picks for Novemberhttps://www.tor.com/2017/11/03/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-november-2017/
https://www.tor.com/2017/11/03/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-november-2017/#commentsFri, 03 Nov 2017 15:00:02 +0000https://www.tor.com/?p=311143For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases. The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun, by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Verlyn Flieger […]]]>

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases.

Originally written in 1930, this early Tolkien story has nothing to do with Middle-earth, but it does offer a glimpse into the development of his writing process. Composed during a period of fascination with Celtic legend, the story is set in “Britain’s land beyond the seas.” A lord, Aotrou, and his wife Itroun are childless. Aotrou seeks out a Corrigan—an evil fairy—to obtain a magic potion of fertility. The potion works, and the couple welcome twins. The fairy promptly returns and demands payment for the miracle—payment that threatens to destroy Aotrou’s marriage and his life. Fans of The Lord of the Rings will find a familiar thread of darkness in this story, as well as the early signs of greatness to come. This edition also includes Tolkein’s “Corrigan” poems, other early works, and an introduction by his son Christopher.

Taking cues from political and military history, Baker sets the first book in his Breaker of Empires series in a 32nd century in which technologically advanced superpowers dominate older, backwards empires, playing the traditional Great Game with starships and other sci-fi tech. Sikander North is a prince of Kashmir, vassal to the Commonwealth of Aquila, an interstellar power. He’s the gunnery officer on the CSS Hector, and the only Kashmiri on board, meaning he has to prove himself twice to his Aquilan crewmates. Sent into a system dissolving into insurgent chaos in order to evacuate Aquila’s citizens, Sikander has to juggle an investigation into who’s funneling weapons to the rebellion, the smart and willful daughter of a colonial power, and the suspicions of his own unit. If he survives, his career will have gotten off to a glorious start—but there’s no guarantee he will survive.

Adapted from the popular full-cast audio drama/podcast of the same name, this is the story of Dakota Prentiss, who works security at a top-secret facility where an alien spacecraft crash-landed more than a decade ago with one of the aliens inside (called “Moss”) still at the controls. Moss represent incredible danger and opportunity for the world, and so security around the ship is iron-clad, including a non-fraternization clause with some heavy consequences attached. Which becomes a problem when Matt Salem joins the security team, because he and Dakota fall instantly in love. Unable to be together and unable to leave their jobs, they do the only insane thing they can think of: plot to steal Moss and sell his secrets to the highest bidder. As you do. Addictive as an audio serial, the storyline works just as well in print. Why not enjoy it both ways?

The final book in Dalglish’s Seraphim series finds the four minor islands banding together at last, combining their fates in the struggle for true independence from the Archon and Center. But Kael Skyborn is plagued by doubt over the rebellion’s leaders, even if his fire-throwing sister Bree is the public face of the struggle. Everything changes when Kael is captured and taken to Center to be executed; Bree abandons the rebellion and focuses instead of rescuing her brother—and on ending the war for once and for all. Underneath the nonstop action are the mysteries of the elemental forces unleashed by the Seraphim, and those that keep the islands from crashing down into the world below.

In a future world where the detritus of a once-advanced civilization litters the planet, humanity is gathered into a few settlements protected from the chaos outside in the wastelands. Out there, creatures roam—things that were once human, things that were never human, things that want nothing more than to destroy all humans they encounter. In the city of Dun Add, a leader rises and unites humanity, imposing order on a new empire. His Champions are trained to go forth and expand the realm of men, to push back the wastes and the monsters that roam across it. Pal is a hayseed, an innocent gifted with the ability to sense and repair ancient technology. He arrives in Dun Add determined to train and become a Champion. It’s an addictive melding of the mythic hero’s journey and inventive sci-fi worldbuilding,

After nearly eight years, Foster delivers the fifteenth Pip and Flinx Adventure. Far future heroes Flinx and Pip are called out of retirement to investigate the smuggling of technology and weapons to Largess, a world of low technological development unprepared for the power such advanced gear offers. One problem immediately presents itself—mastering the Larian language, singspeak, in which every sentence is like a perfectly-crafted song lyric, and must be sung to be understood. Not only is this incredibly distracting, the singing blocks Flinx’s natural empathetic abilities, rendering him, in a sense, blind. When the smuggler kidnaps a lord in an effort to protect his operation, war looms and Flinx and Pip have to think—and act—fast. It’s another fast moving, rollicking adventure from an author whose given us plenty of them.

Superhero tropes are given an epic fantasy twist in the latest novel from Hugo and Nebula award nominee Gardner. In an alternate world, the creatures of our nightmares walk the Earth. They are called Darklings, but we’d recognize them as vampires, werewolves, and ghosts. Standing against them are the Sparks, transformed into quasi-superheroes by strange science. Four college kids get caught in a freak accident become Sparks, dedicated to fighting evil, but they soon begin to suspect their “accident” was anything but, uncovering a conspiracy that will reveal the rise of an a whole new kind of threat. What begins as a clever superhero spoof becomes a compelling mystery in its own right, with a healthy dose of humor throughout (the Sparks’ take on superhero costumes is a particular highlight).

A plague strikes humanity, turning men and women into vicious, feral creatures. Only a few thousand humans remain by the time an alien race known as the Krakau arrive and reverse the process. Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos is one of those lucky humans, and she’s grateful to be herself again. But her luck doesn’t last long: assigned to a sanitation and hygiene crew on the ship Pufferfish, Mops and her team are the only humans wearing protective suits when a weapon is deployed onboard that sends all the humans back to a feral state. Trapped on the ship with people-turned-monsters, Mops uses her intimate knowledge of the vessel’s plumbing and cleaning supplies to fight the ferals and find out who’s responsible for the attack. Hines got his start with books skewering epic fantasy tropes, and he brings the same tongue-in-cheek humor to this space opera romp, the first in a new series.

The island nation of Kekon relies on the magical properties of jade—and the families of Green Bone warriors able to manipulate it to gain magical fighting abilities—for protection. These warriors have safeguarded the island for centuries, but when a long period of unrest gives way to peace, the new generation forgets about tradition, and powerful families jockey for control of the country. As the family drama spills out into brutal street fighting and cunning political intrigue, a new drug emerges that allows anyone, even foreigners, to use jade. Back-room scheming erupts into full-on warfare, and a conflict that ties together complex threads of family and history will determine the fate of Kekon’s future. This immensely readable epic might be fantasy’s answer to The Godfather.

The White Raven crew and its captain, Kalea “Callie” Machedo, make a living running freight and claiming salvage on the edges of the solar system. When they run across a centuries-old exploration ship, it seems like a stroke of luck—until they discover a single female crew member in cryosleep onboard. Callie makes the decision to wake the woman, Elena, from suspension, and she tells them a desperate tale of first contact with an alien race. It’s up to the White Raven crew to inform her that humanity made contact a long time ago—but Elena reveals she encountered a different alien race, and they left her with gifts—gifts that could determine the future of the human race, or it lack thereof. With a diverse cast of engaging characters, an intriguing mystery plot, and a healthy dose of humor, this is the perfect readalike for fans of Firefly or Becky Chambers’ A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, and the best space opera surprise of 2017.

Whether writing novels or short stories, Powers has a unique speculative voice; his tales veer in unexpected directions and wind up in unexpected places. This collection of his short work is headlined by the title story, wherein a man seeks to avenge his lover’s murder, only to discover the murderer is already dead—prompting him to seek out a sorcerer to pursue the killer’s ghost and destroy him in the afterworld. Other stories also dabble in the spirit realm: one invites us to a Thanksgiving feast attended by a family and their ghostly ancestors; in another, a “bible repairman” who magically removes passages from the good book for a fee is tasked with tracking down a ghost, and finds himself dealing with his own fractured soul in the process. Powers’ stories never fail to surprise, and this collection won’t fail to satisfy either longtime readers or new fans.

When it comes to short speculative fiction, it doesn’t get much better than the stories found in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, or the taste of editor (and two-time Hugo Award-winner) Sheila Williams. Here, Williams selects the best Asimov’s stories that went on to win Hugo or Nebula awards between the years 1995 and 2015. The fact that there’s enough of them to fill a sizable anthology says all you need to know about the magazine’s quality—and Williams’ eye for great science fiction.

The second installment of Zieja’s Epic Failure trilogy, a hilarious military sci-fi spoof, is as lively and irreverent as the first. Reluctant leader (and Peter Principle poster boy) R. Wilson Rogers has been promoted to Admiral of the 331st Meridan fleet just as humanity’s Two Hundred Years’ (and Counting) peace with the alien Thelicosans is crumbling. But it’s been so long since the end of the original conflict, no one on either side has the slightest idea of how to actually fight a war, even as a mysterious force seems determined to manipulate both sides into waging one. The enemy admiral has romantic designs on Rogers, too, and his advisors and support staff are entertaining weirdos in their own right. As before, the harder Rogers tries to avoid success, the faster he seems to fail upwards—with unfortunate-yet-hilarious results. We loved the first book because it was both a fantastic parody and a compelling story in its own right, and this one’s no different. Epic win.

This collection of short stories from the legendary author of The Last Unicorn spans the world, reminding readers that magic, and magical creatures, are not always mere objects of wonder—they can be dangerous. In these stories, a traveler discovers a way to enter the shadow universe of the Overneath, an inventor hears mysterious voices on his first-ever wireless sound transmitter, and a team of government agents conduct a raid on a drug operation deep in the woods and discover the criminals are using dragons as security. These 13 stories explore universal themes of love and adventure, with the trademark wry humor and heartfelt emotion that Beagle is known for.

In the third book in Brooks’ SF crime capering series, Captain Ichabod Drift and crew of the Kieko are suffering a hangover from their previous adventure in the form of Sergei Orlov, an angry crime lord who is none to pleased with their antics in Dark Sky. Orlov believes he’s owed a considerable debt, and kidnaps Drift’s partner Tamara Rourke and demands a ransom in order to make things right. Drift and company spring several concurrent blackmail schemes and yet more elaborate plans to raise the necessary cash, including convincing the hulking Apirana to take part in a prize fight with a big purse. Meanwhile, Rourke, no delicate flower herself, isn’t passively waiting around to be rescued, and launches her own bid to attain freedom, by hook or by crook. This series is pure gonzo fun, and watching the Kieko crew pull off one improbable job after another never gets old.

City of Brass, by S.A. Chakraborty(November 14, Harper Voyager—Hardcover)

In 18th century Cairo, Nahri, a young Egyptian con artist, unwittingly captures the attention of a djinn warrior with her powerful supernatural healing capabilities. Swept off to the legendary City of Brass, she becomes embroiled in the complex and violent politics of its magical residents, who are edging ever-closer toward a religious war. Nahri doesn’t know who to trust, or how to navigate a world where loyalty is a magical bond and grudges are measured in millennia. There are more ideas in this thumbnail plot summary than in most complete novels, and we’re only scratching the surface of this richly textured debut. With a briskly moving plot and inventive worldbuilding that pulls from Middle Eastern traditions, it’s one of the year’s standout debuts, and should attract loyal fans among fans of both adult and YA fantasy.

In Donaldson’s new series, his first after completing the long Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the countries of Belleger and Amika have been at war for so long, no one really remembers why. Both nations wield equal force in terms of manpower and magic, as sorcerers on both sides inflict terrible damage using the six Decimates available to them. When Belleger develops gunpowder, however, the balance of power seems to shift—until the nation’s sorcerers to suddenly lose their ability to wield magic. In a desperate bid to save his country, Prince Bifalt of Belleger goes questing for the legendary Seventh Decimate, a spell that would mean the complete destruction of Amika. He quickly discovers the world outside the eternal battlefield is both larger and more dangerous than he imagined.

Expanding upon the 2015 novella Rolling in the Deep, Grant spins a terrifying tale of mermaids who definitely don’t want to be a part of our world (though they’d have no problem consuming it). Seven years ago, a shady television production company in the SyFy vein sent a ship to the Mariana Trench loaded with a camera crew and actors, planning to film the schlockumentary Lovely Ladies of the Sea: The True Story of the Mariana Mermaids. Instead, the ship disappeared, and legend has it the mermaids turned out to be slightly realer than expected. Now, the company has assembled a new team—including some actual scientists this time—to head back to the trench to investigate. Its crew members have many reasons for joining up—a search for knowledge, revenge for a lost sister—but share one thing in common: they have no idea how real, and how vicious, mermaids will turn out to be. To say Grant reinvents mermaids like she did the zombies of Feed would be an understatement—these aren’t Disney’s little mermaids.

The third book of Sanderson’s epic Stormlight Archive returns to the violent, complex world of Roshar. Dalinar Kohlin’s victory is very much a pyrrhic one, resulting in the Everstorm being summoned. The storm’s physical destruction is bad enough, but as it rakes the world, in awakens the subservient parshmen to the reality of their slavery. As Kaladin Stormblessed rushes to warn his family, he wrestles with the realization the parshmen have every right to seek vengeance. Meanwhile, a mission to Urithiru—the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant set high above the storms—unearths dangerous secrets, and Dalinar begins to understand that his mission to unite Alethkar was just the beginning. If Roshar is going to survive the Voidbringers, every nation must stand together against the threat.

Weir’s first novel in the wake of The Martian‘s became a bestselling phenomenon (and a major box office hit) is a completely different kind of story, even as it shares its predecessor’s commitment to smart, plausible science. In Artemis, city on the Moon. Jazz Bashara works as a porter, scraping by and supplementing her income with a little light smuggling on the side. Her moonlighting brings her into contact with wealthy and powerful figures like Trond Landvik, a businessman with designs on a lunar aluminum monopoly. Landvik asks Jazz to come up with a way to sabotage his competition, and Jazz seizes the opportunity to grab a big score with a bold plan spiced. The resulting caper moves at a mile a minute, delivered with the same witty dialogue and ribald humor that made us fall in love with Mark Watney. If you ask us, Weir has another winner on his hands—and likely another blockbuster film adaptation in his future.

The ideal introduction to Yolen’s adult fiction, this collection of stories features classic figures from fairy tales, literature, and history engaging in unexpected, subversive, or fanciful adventures. A new Wendy in Neverland rises up and fights for labor rights against the oppressive Lost Boys. Dorothy returns from Oz a changed woman, wise and sophisticated in the ways of more than one world. Emily Dickinson meets an alien, the Arthurian legends are chopped and screwed into something unexpected, and the relationship between a real world queen and her prime minister is given a spark of magic. Fans of Yolen will be thrilled, and newcomers will be amazed.

This collection of 20 fantastical short stories set in New York City manages to capture the restless, ever-shifting spirit of the metropolis in a wide variety of surprising and creative ways. Veteran editor Paula Guran has put together an impressive roster of talent, including heavy-hitters like Peter S. Beagle, Elizabeth Bear, Peter Straub, and N.K. Jemison (plus many more). These stories explore the insanity of New York City real estate through the eyes of a vampire, the source of a jazz musician’s dark appeal, and the secrets unearthed when during the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, and not a one of them could have been set anywhere else. Whether you’re a denizen of the city that never sleeps, or just a tourist, this tales will dazzle you with that special kind of New York magic.

After being sent four billion years into the future in Altered Starscape, Lord Commander Grayson St. Clair finds himself trying to keep control of a ship with a population of more than a million scientists, AIs, military, and diplomats. In a universe much changed from the one they remember, the crew and population of the Tellus Ad Astra find themselves facing an alien force that seems unstoppable, and seems to exist only to destroy every civilization it encounters, without explanation or apparent motive. Struggling to return the people in his care to the Milky Way galaxy, St. Clair finds his biggest challenge may be maintaining order among a population unprepared for the discipline survival will require.

Freddy Duchamp is just trying to survive high school, as one does. This task is made more difficult by her siblings: her geeky, deaf stepbrother Roland and supersmart little sister Mel. Things take a turn for the strange when new neighbors move into the house next door, and the house suddenly refuses to obey the laws of physics. Cuerva and Josiah prove to be as strange as the house they inhabit—and before she knows it, Freddy finds pulled along in their wake (quite literally, though to reveal exactly how would be a big spoiler). As Freddy begins to learn that Cuerva and Josiah are something much more than human, she must confront the fact that either she or one of her siblings is a major player in a conflict as old as time itself, and that one of them may have the power to tip the balance between order and chaos. With all the charm and imagination of Madeline L’Engle and Diana Wynne Jones, Maaren’s debut feels like an instant classic, perfect for precocious young readers or older ones looking for the kind of book that made them fall for sci-fi and fantasy in the first place.

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases.

Combining an old-school sci-fi adventure story with Manchess’ stunning paintings, Above the Timberline tells the story of Wes Singleton, a young man in the far future searching for his father, an explorer who disappeared while seeking a city buried deep under the snow. The world of the 36th century is one of eternal winter, with some areas so deeply buried in snow, no one knows how far down it goes. Wes believes his father is still alive in the snowy wasteland above the timberline. The technology is limited and much of the world is populated by non-technological tribes, making a rescue mission difficult at best and deadly at worst. The story is told as a series of journal entries, with the more than 100 full-page illustrations containing a wealth of stunning worldbuilding and character work supplementing the sparse text.

This exceptional fantasy debut tells the story of bounty hunter and agent of the Republic Ryhalt Galharrow, a gruff, bitter man who leads the Blackwings through the twisted, blasted land known as the Misery. The Misery was created decades earlier at the end of a brutal war between the Deep Kings and the Republic; the former were only stopped by the use of Nall’s Engine, a weapon so terrible it cowed the powerful Deep Kings—and created the Misery. Galharrow is sworn to follow his god-like patron Crowfoot, so when he’s ordered to rescue a noblewoman named Exabeth Tanza in the Misery, the Blackwings must obey. When the Deep Kings attack, only Ezabeth’s unexpected magic save them—in the process revealing a conspiracy surrounding the truth behind the Engine that puts the world in terrible danger.

Card returns to the universe of Ender’s Game with his first solo-Ender novel since 2008. It’s the first book of the new Fleet School series, which runs parallel to the events of Ender’s Shadow. Ender Wiggin defeated the Formics, and the terraformed worlds are now open to human settlement, with the International Fleet now part of the Ministry of Colonization. Fleet School is still recruiting the brightest children, and Dabeet Ochoa is one of the brightest, though he’s sorely lacking in social skills. He doesn’t think he has a chance of making it in, but secretly applies anyway—and is stunned when Minister Hirum Graff shows up at his house to interview him, and clue him in to his secret connection to the Fleet. Dabeet struggles to make friends and bond with his new classmates—at least until a raid forces him to think fast and act faster, launching him into the sort of fast-paced space adventure that is Card’s trademark.

This new classic of alternate worlds has been reissued in a beautiful, signed collector’s edition featuring illustrated endpapers, an interview between Schwab and her editor, an exclusive cover, and more. Kell is the adopted brother of the Prince of Red London, a version of the city where magic is everywhere. Kell is the only living magician who can travel between the various parallel Londons—White London, where magic has gone bad and the struggle to bring order to the world has sapped its strength; magic-free Grey London, similar to the London of our own Regency Era; and Black London, destroyed by magic. Kell is also a smuggler of magical artifacts, and he comes into possession of a dangerous Black London artifact—something that shouldn’t exist. Worse, the artifact is quickly stolen by the dashing, smart-mouthed thief Lila Bard, putting all the worlds at risk and forcing Kell and Lila into a breathless quest to make things right—before it’s too late.

The second Welcome to Night Vale novel is a smart exploration of the divide—and overlap—of science and religion. Being a scientist in Night Vale is hard enough for Nilanjana Sikdar, but when she’s sent into the desert to investigate an ominous rumbling, she meets Darryl Ramirez, of the Church of the Joyous Congregation of the Smiling God. She and Darryl hit it off and she asks him out, but as her investigations continue, she comes to believe the Congregation is connected to the disturbance. Plot twist: instead of squaring off, Nilanjana and her fellow scientists join forces with the worshipers to get to the bottom of things and defend the town. The result is a thrilling adventure and a fascinating argument that science and belief aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.

This collection shows Howey’s true range and impact as a writer, offering up stories (including two previously unpublished) that dip into both established universes (the Wool series) and new ones. Howey explores perception and emotion from human, non-human, and artificial intelligences in a collection divided into three distinct sections—the first dealing with aliens and alien worlds; the second, artificial intelligence; and the third, fantasy. His stories take a more modern approach in their consideration of classic themes, hitting all the harder as a result. Best of all, Howey provides liner notes for each story explaining how they came to be.

Cole continues to chart almost a genre unto himself—call it modern military fantasy. This third entry in the Shadow Ops: Gemini Cell series finds resurrected former Navy SEAL Jim Schweitzer finally realizing the only way he’ll ever escape the government entity that brought him back from the dead—and then declared him a national security threat like no other when he went rogue—is to destroy the Gemini Cell for once and for all. That’s not going to be easy, so Schweizer travels to the desolate, freezing north in search allies—elite soldiers from Canada and the U.S. in a race to locatethe site of a secret magic that could distort the balance of power in the world, leaving the Gemini Cell firmly in control of everything.

The Best American anthologies tend to reflect the state of the world in the year they’re published, and the 2017 installment is just as paranoid, terrified, and despairing as you might expect—though shot through with a persistent thread of hope for better times. Standouts of the 20 stories selected by Adams and guest editor Carles Yu include N.K. Jemisin’s “The City Born Great,” Catherynne M. Valente’s “The Future Is Blue,” and E. Lily Yu’s “The Witch of Orion Waste and the Boy Knight,” but any and all of them are sharp, imaginative blasts from possible futures and alternate presents that reflect and comment on our world in ways realistic fiction simply can’t.

An anthology linked by a sword motif might suggest an unending parade of high fantasy riffs, but Dozois has something more subtle—and more effective—in mind. While there are some expected—albeit excellent—examples of just that in here (including a standout from Robin Hobb, set in her Farseer universe and, of course, a new story from George R.R. Martin that provides a new verse in the Song of Ice and Fire) many of the stories play with the iconic image of the sword while offering up something unexpected. With stories from Elizabeth Bear, Ken Liu, K.J. Parker and many more, it’s a can’t lose anthology.

Brett delivers the fifth and final book of the Demon Cycle series, which finds the heroes of mankind—Arlen Bales, the Warded Man, and Jardir, The Deliverer—facing defeat despite their best efforts and incredible power. Their victories have pushed demonkind to the breaking point, calling forth something that might very well destroy humanity completely—a swarm of demonic beings. In order to prevent complete disaster, Arlen and Jardir must somehow force a demon prince to do their bidding and lead them to the Core, where the Mother of Demons breeds an infinite, unbeatable army. But the demon prince is devious and frighteningly intelligent, and Arlen and Jardir—and their closets allies—know that even if they make it to the Core, there is very little chance that they will return from their trip into the heart of evil.

This deluxe edition of the first book of Rothfuss’ instantly classic Kingkiller Chronicle is perfect for fans who want an excuse to experience the adventure all over again, as Kvothe, secret hero of a thousand legends, tells his life story to Chronicler. His fascinating tale— growing up as part of a nomadic family, seeing them slaughtered, living on the street, becoming a student of magic at an elite school, and later a hero and legend—is plenty entertaining, but hints that the storied hero is both greater and lesser than the sum of his experiences. This handsome anniversary edition features a striking new cover, interior illustrations by Dan Dos Santos, an updated world map, a new author’s note, and more.

This epic fantasy debut is the story of two women born a month apart in a time of desperate need, joined from birth by a powerful set of omens. Shizuka is the niece of the Hokkaran Emperor Yoshimoto; Barsalyya Shefali Alshar is the daughter of Kharsa Burqila, Queen of the horsemen and women of the Qorin steppes. Their mothers know a magical bond when they see one, and so the girls are raised to be the best of friends despite their cultural differences. As they grow into their incredible supernatural powers, they experience a series of adventures that make them living legends. But darkness is gathering on the empire’s borders—and it’s drawing closer every day. In gorgeous prose, Rivera creates a fascinating setting drawn from Mongolian lore, and an adventure headlined by strong, queer female heroes the likes of which are rarely found in fantasy.

The concluding volume of Newman’sVagrant trilogy begins some years after the Vagrant entered the Shining City. His adopted daughter Vesper has closed the tear between worlds, trapping the Infernal—but now, the Vagrant faces a new challenge that might be the most difficult one of all: co-existence. But just as he tries to gather the leaders of the various factions that have been tearing the world apart in the hopes of engineering peace, something unexpected happens: the Seven, the immortals who ruled the world before the Infernals’ invasion, awaken from their slumber and once again walk the world—and seek to “purge” the planet of the Infernal taint—which bodes well for exactly nobody.

The first in a new fantasy series from Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles) takes a deep dive into a complex fictional world. It’s a story told by a bard with the ability to take on the appearance of the subjects of his tale. A year ago, a volcano erupted, destroying an island inhabited by giants, who then invade the lands of Teldwen seeking refuge. A second race of towering beings, mysterious and destructive, also arrive to do their own killing and rampaging. A soldier, Tallynd, must put aside her grief at the death of her husband to fight the giants. A young boy from a family of hunters sets off on a quest of self-discovery and finds a powerful magic that might be the key to defeating the giants before they destroy everything. And a scholar (the audience for the bard’s tale) begins to suspect there’s more in the telling than the bard is letting on.

The first book in Khan’s Khorasan Archives tells the story of Arian, First Oralist of the Companions of Hira, a group seeking to preserve the Claim, a written work encompassing the land’s religion and magic. Although courted by Daniyar, the Silver Mage, Arian focuses on saving enslaved women from the growing forces of the Talisman, a male-dominated movement of violence and oppression led by the terrifying One-Eyed Preacher. The Talisman is ignorant and brutal and seeks to subjugate all women—and is growing larger by the day. Arian learns of a powerful text known as the Bloodprint, which might be capable of stopping the Talisman and destroying the One-Eyed Preacher. Arian and another warrior named Sinnia set off to locate the Bloodprint, knowing the journey may well kill them.

This engaging, original fantasy debut follows Laon Helstone, a British missionary on a perilous quest into Arcasia, the land of the Fae, hoping to convert them. When he stops writing, his sister Catherine fears the worst—and travels north into Arcadia herself in order to save him. Laon is not at Gethsemane, the home given to him by the Queen of the Fae, and his retainer is reluctant to tell her anything. Catherine finds herself confined in the house, where she locates the journal of a previous missionary named Reverend Roche, rumored to have died in Arcadia, and another book written in a mysterious language. When Laon finally returns, it is alongside Queen Fab, and as Catherine gets her first taste of the Fae—cruel, prankish, amused at the misery of their human guests— she and Laon suspect they aren’t in Arcadia on missionary work at all, but merely for the amusement of the Fae.

In grand style, Bear begins a new epic set in her Eternal Sky universe. The Gage—an automaton crafted around a human being by a powerful wizard—and the Dead Man—a bitter ronin-esque bodyguard—are escorting a convoy into the Lotus Kingdoms. Once a single powerful empire, the Kingdoms have shattered into many squabbling fiefdoms. The Gage and the Dead Man are secretly carrying a message from The Eyeless One, a powerful mage, to Mrithuri, who rules Sarathai-tia. Mrithuri is locked in a power struggle with her male cousins, and the words carry will cause Gage and The Dead Man to become enmeshed in the struggle as well.

Effortlessly evoking 19th century France in a tale combining magic and authentic historicity, Moreno-Garcia tells the story of Antonina Beaulieu, visiting the gorgeous city of Loisail for her first Grand Season, where she traditionally would seek a suitable husband. Shepherding the naive and country-mannered Antonina is Valerie Beaulieu, Anotnina’s cousin—cold, reserved, and beautiful. Antonina has unfortunate bouts of uncontrolled telekinesis which make her the butt of vicious gossip among the so-called Beautiful People, but Hector Auvray, an accomplished telekinetic, courts her, promising to teach her how to control her gift. But Hector has a history with Valerie, which he seeks to rekindle through his deceptive—and heartbreaking—courtship of Antonina.

Master fantasist John Crowley (Little, Big) offers a rich, unexpected story that begins with the sad memoir of a recent widower in a world collapsing due to climate change. Admitting he is not well in mind or body, the narrator finds a sick crow in his backyard and impulsively takes it in to nurse it back to health. The crow, however, is no dumb animal. It teaches the man its crow language, reveals it has often dealt with humans (a human gave it its name, Dar Oakley) and begins to tell him stories of its adventures in Ka, the land of the crows, and Ymr, the world of men. As Dar Oakley tells his story, it becomes clear that this ancient bird may possess the secrets that could save the world—now that he’s found someone to tell them to.

Half flashman, half hero, Quillifer is a quick-witted young man living an easy life in the city of Ethlebight in the realm of Duisland. When the city is attacked and his family killed, Quillifer is rocketed into a life of adventure, relying more on his charm and brains than his swordplay. Getting in and out of trouble with a exhausting regularity, he takes up with a gang of bandits, finds himself drowning in court politics, and the toy of a jealous, flighty goddess. He makes his way to the capital city to begin a career, only to find himself in the midst of a civil war and reluctantly serving as a soldier—where his quick wit is finally able to change his fortunes. Walter Jon Williams has proven once again he’s a writer who can’t be confined to a single genre—and when the books are this addictively readable, who would want to?

Stearns roars onto the bookshelf with a crackling debut set in a solar system decimated by economic collapse and war, leaving engineers Adda and Iridian jobless and desperate. Their idea is simple: hijack a colony ship and deliver it to the legendary pirates living in luxury at Barbary Station in deep space, and seek to sign on and make their fortunes—the ultimate job interview. But when they arrive, they discover they’ve got it wrong: the pirates (and now, Adda and Iridian) are prisoners of a crazed AI thats seeks to murder all living things—and won’t let any ships leave. In order to earn their place with the pirates (and live long enough to enjoy it), Adda and Iridian have to do what every previous engineer has failed to do: find the artificial intelligence’s weakness, fight it, and live to tell the tale.

In the land of Raverra, the best laid plans of young noble ladies oft go awry. When Amalia Cornaro, heir to her mother’s seat at the ruling Council of Nine, saves a young fire warlock Zaira from her own balefire spell, she becomes Zaira’s Falconer. The two are magically linked—and automatically conscripted into Raverra’s military forces. Under the direction of the Doge himself, Amalia and Zaira must learn to work with each other as war creeps closer. Complicating matters are Amalia’s complicated feelings about the Falconer second-in-command, the dull and socially inferior—but well-meaning—Lieutenant Marcello Verdi. Beneath their personal struggles is a city that’s already a boiling cauldron of restless energy threatening to burn out of control, meaning that Amalia and Zaira may be tested in battle long before they’re ready.

This slim debut is crazed and horrific in the best way. Molly Southbourne’s childhood is oppressed by her parents’ rigid rules: “If you see a girl who looks like you, run and fight. Don’t bleed. If you bleed, blot, burn, and bleach. If you find a hole, find your parents.” The reason for these cryptic instructions lies in Molly’s unique condition: if she bleeds, an identical copy of herself is created. If left to its own devices, this copy (known as a molly) will turn murderous and try to kill her—and so mollys must be destroyed on sight. Molly spends her youth protecting herself from harm and murdering her identical copies, which would mess with anyone’s head. As she enters college, she wearies of the rules and begins sliding into a dark place—but there are mollys out there willing to take advantage of her weakness. The revelations behind Molly’s condition are twisty and twisted, and as the body count rises, she has reason to wonder if the last thing she’ll ever see is herself.

You might think it would be a challenge to find a new way of looking at Star Wars, but the more than 40 brilliant authors in this anthology have proven you wrong. Each story retells a moment from A New Hope from the point-of-view of a supporting character you’ve probably never considered before, offering an entirely fresh takes on the 40-year old film. With stories by the likes of Nnedi Okorafor, Delilah S. Dawson, Daniel José Older, Chuck Wendig, and Ken Liu, we get to Luke’s origin story through the eyes of characters like Aunt Beru, Grand Moff Tarkin, and even the trash compactor monster. All authors’ proceeds are being donated to charity, making an easy purchasing decision that much easier.

The Power, by Naomi Alderman(October 10, Little, Brown and Company—Hardcover)

In the near future, women all over the world discover they have the ability to unleash “skeins” of electricity powerful enough to hurt, injure—even kill. The world order slowly erodes under the new math of this power imbalance. Revolts begin in oppressive, male-dominated societies like Saudi Arabia, but on scales both large and intimate, society resets as new paradigms form: an abused orphan girl establishes a new religion focused on the female figures from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. A woman founds a new nation and strips all men of their rights. An American woman rises through the traditional power structures of democracy, but the taste of power corrupts her. The world seems destined to spin into complete chaos, as Alderman’s arresting novel investigates what might happen if we torn down the systems that have supported the world for centuries.

Combining classics from names like Anne McCaffrey and Cordwainer Smith with brand-new stories from modern masters like Elizabeth Moon and Nnedi Okorafor, this anthology celebrates the breadth and scope—and storytelling power—of space opera. Of particular interest is “The Waters of Kanly” by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, a new tale set during the events of Frank Herbert’s Dune, but the balance of stories explore every aspect of space opera, from military clashes (in stories by Lois McMaster Bujold and David Drake), to space pirates, and the cultural and biological conflicts any galactic civilization would inevitably encounter.

Lackey’s twelfth Elemental Masters novel is set in an alternate 20th century England on Christmas Eve—a time of celebration for all mankind, including Doctor John Watson and his wife Mary. It’s also a time of reckoning for ancient forces, dark and hungry, that begin to awaken on the Longest Night. Lowborn women disappear unnoticed—only to reappear broken and insane. Dr. Watson, called to treat them, can see no ordinary horror has broken them—but when women of higher social castes begin to similarly disappear, the country turns to the world’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes, to wrestle with the problem. Yet even Holmes is no match for the encroaching darkness—it will take magic, psychic powers, and Holmes’ considerable intellect working together if England is to see another dawn.

The third book in Bowens’ Shadow series finds Rhett Walker facing the unsettling certainty he’s the Shadow, destined to go wherever there are things that must be set right. The Necromancer Trevisan has stolen the body of Cora’s sister Meimei, but Rhett can only follow where the Shadow leads, and his companions have no choice but to trust his acquiescence to fate. Along the way, Rhett and his allies must decide what they truly mean to each other—because surviving the final confrontation with the alchemist will leave no room for doubts. The story hurtles along at a thrilling pace, rushing toward an explosive finale that sets up the fourth and final chapter in this weird western saga.

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens introduced a ton of instantly iconic new characters, but none more mysterious and enigmatic than First Order military leader Captain Phasma. She became a fan favorite even before the movie came out—and sadly gave her far too little attention. That’s to be rectified in this novel, penned by one of our favorite SFF writers, Delilah S. Dawson—who knows from creating strong, complex characters. Here, she offers us the irresistible chance to learn more about the fearsome stormtrooper whose history has remained a total mystery, until now. Cardinal, a crimson-armored stromtrooper, hates Phasma and seeks to uncover the secrets of her past by torturing a rebel prisoner. The prisoner and Cardinal become locked in a battle of wills as information is bargained away a piece at a time, slowly filling the blanks of Phasma’s origin story—but once Cardinal knows the truth, he’ll have to deal with the raw power of Phasma’s fury. The Barnes & Noble edition features an exclusive double-sided poster.

The Hollywood version of climate change is sudden, dramatic, and instantly cataclysmic; Bradley’s thoughtful near-future sci-fi offers the opposite. With a time-hopping narrative focusing on a single family across years, Bradley explores a world struggling with the effects of rising temperatures that cause fierce, constant storms, battered infrastructure, and widespread extinctions. Adam is a climate scientist working on the arctic ice shelf, worried that the child his partner is pregnant with will enter a world already ruined. That child, Summer, grows up estranged from her parents as England faces collapse in the face of the relentless power of a boiling Earth. By avoiding the easy narrative, Bradley’s novel is absorbing and depressing, as it is thoughtful and fascinating, as he traces the possible paths of a future being seeded right now in the present day.

Having hopped publishers, Max Gladstone’s Hugo-nominated Craft Sequence—a blend of epic and urban fantasy in which divine magical and disputes over zoning regulations go hand-in-hand—returns with a sixth installment that will satisfy old fans while welcoming new ones. Familiar faces return, but the setting is new: the city of Agdel Lex, which sits atop the wreckage of another, destroyed in the God Wars. It’s a place where streets shift without notice, tethered to one reality or another only by a shared understanding, while outside the city walls lie the writhing remains of dead and dying deities. Visitors must stay focused on the country to which they were admitted, lest they fall through holes in the façade and into the dead city. Into this strange landscape wanders Kai, a priestess on the hunt for her missing sister, soon caught up in a new war between the Iskari Rectification Authority’s mission to solidify Agdel Lex’s nebulous and tenuous foundation, and leagues of “delvers” looking to poke holes in it and find pathways back to the old city.

Inspired by the science fantasy of Star Wars, Final Fantasy, and Firefly, Brassey’s epic standalone debut pivots on the legendary Axiom Diamond, a gem that will show the bearer any truth they wish to see. Sought for centuries, the gem remains legend—but when Aimee de Laurent’s first attempt at casting a portal spell goes terribly wrong, she and the sorcerer she’s been training under are forced to embark on their skyship on a quest to locate the fabled crystal. Unfortunately for de Laurent, they are opposed by Lord Azrael, fearsome leader of the Eternal Order. He will use the Order’s incredible magic power to prevent Aimee from succeeding, no matter what he destroys in the process.

Sea of Rust, by C. Robert Cargill(September 5, Harper Voyager—Hardcover)

In this warped, Black Mirror reflection of Wall-E, a former caregiver robot that once served as a nurse to human beings wanders a blasted wasteland in search of spare parts. Fifteen years earlier, the last human was killed by the triumphant robot uprising. But instead of freedom, the robots were subsumed into One World Intelligences (OWIs), rival hive minds inexorably spreading across the globe, demanding subservience as they claim new territory. The caregiver robot, Brittle, is haunted by her own role in the human extermination. As a lone machine, she has no access to factory-made parts and must scavenge the “Sea of Rust” in order to survive—but her model is rare, making her parts valuable to a second caregiver robot called Mercer, whose attacks leave both robots vulnerable, locked in a tense race against time and the approach of warring OWIs.

In the second in Kristoff’s Nevernight Chronicles, Mia Corvere has become a Blade in the Red Church, but she’d still obsessed with revenge against those who wrongfully executed her father and destroyed her family. The Church isn’t interested in her vendetta, and seems to be actively working against her. Hearing about the upcoming Grand Games (where Consul Scaeva and Cardinal Duomo will make public appearances), she defies the Church and arranges to be sold to a gladiator outfit, where she hopes to be brought into close proximity to the people she wants to murder. But first, as a gladiator, she’s going to have to murder a whole lot of other people. As the body count rises, Mia discovers a secret that changes everything—but doesn’t sate her thirst for vengeance. Available in a signed edition from Barnes & Noble.

When it comes to breathtaking science fictional ideas, few writers can claim as many as Ursula K. Le Guin—and many of those incredible concepts first appeared in the novels and stories of her Hainish cycle. These tales span a galaxy seeded by humanity—not the humanity of Earth, but the humanity of the planet Hain, who once performed genetic experiments and established colonies on other planets (including Earth) before ceasing interstellar travel. As humanity on these worlds begins to reach out to the stars, they discover each other, and must explore their differences even as they establish connections. This epic two-volume set (Le Guin’s nigh-unprecedented second Library of America collection) includes all of the Hainish Cycle novels and stories, including Hugo-winners The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed, along with introductions, afterwards, and additional commentary by the author. A true must-have for SFF readers.

The concluding volume of Liu’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy arrives in trade paperback, which is more than enough reason to recommend it one more time. Death’s End finds the uneasy balance of power between the TriSolarans and humanity slowly leading to true peace. As humanity advances due to the influx of TriSolaran ideas and technology, the aliens adopt aspects of human culture, leading to a true understanding not based on mutually-assured destruction. But when an engineer named Cheng Xin, in hibernation since the early 21st century, awakens, she brings with her knowledge that threatens to upset the fragile balance brought about by the Dark Forest Deterrence. Taken together, Liu’s trilogy is not just one of the greatest works of Chinese science fiction to have come to America, but one of the greatest ever written.

The 11th October Daye novel—the first to debut in hardcover—opens in a rare moment of calm for Toby, a sure sign that chaos is about to crash the party. And it soon does, in the form of Toby’s mother Amandine, one of the most powerful Fae, amid Toby’s engagement to Tybalt, King of Cats. Amandine kidnaps Tybalt and forces Toby track down her sister, August, who has been missing for decades. Toby turns to the one man who can help her in the quest—and the last person she wants to work with: her powerful stepfather Simon Torquill. Their search brings Toby into contact with the debris of her past adventures in ways that are powerfully emotional for long time readers, as the mystery of August’s long absence becomes more intense as the story progresses.

Rowland’s hilarious sixth White Trash Zombie novel finds zombie Angel Crawford’s life in pieces—literally, after a dismemberment during Mardi Gras. As she pulls herself together (again, literally) she becomes aware of a new threat to the zombie way of, er, life—Shamblers, a mindless variant of zombie that voraciously attack anyone they come across. When the Shambler plague strikes close to home, Angel launches into kick-butt mode to clean up the mess, but then discovers the reason the plague is spreading so quickly—and things become very personal.

The concept of digital immortality is usually presented as a net positive—a way of escaping death. Steinmetz offers an alternative view in this story of a future where the elderly move on to live in a digital heaven, but one maintained only by the shrinking population of the still-living. The dead monitor the living and vote on who gets to join them in paradise, ensuring cooperation. With their lives increasingly centered on maintaining the computer universe of their ancestors in a world devastated by plague, Amichai Damrosch, an orphan, decides life should be more about serving the dead. What he finds when he begins recruiting like-minded people is nothing less than a conspiracy perpetuated by the creator of digital heaven himself—which inspires Amichai to launch a plot of his own.

This collection of stories features Iraqi authors imagining their country a century after the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, and the result—billed as the first SFF anthology to come out of Iraq—is a revelation. The country’s recent past reverberates throughout every story, as authors like Hassan Blasim (who also edited the collection), Ibrahim al-Marashi, and Hassan Abdulrazzak posit futures in which passports are contained in your fingertips, where robotic puppies eat bombs and a despotic alien ruling class has a taste for human flesh, and where love and compassion have thrillingly won the day. As a glimpse into another culture often obscured by geopolitical chess moves, it’s fascinating—and as a collection of speculative writing, it’s thrilling.

King’s scarily good debut does what SFF does best, extrapolating from a real-world scenario. In a future China where the one-child policy has led to a population with 40 million more men than women, middle aged Wei-guo struggles through a life in which he is considered unnecessary. He maintains his optimism and conviction that as long as he continues to improve he will be rewarded with love, and finally saves a dowry that enables him to join an “advanced family” as a third husband—the lowest rank—to the lovely May-ling. The family is imperfect, harboring an “illegal spouse,” but Wei-guo finds kinship and friendship in this unusual arrangement. But the rulers of the nation know they are sitting on a powderkeg, and have become more intrusive and authoritarian than ever. Someone is always listening, and Wei-guo knows no matter how happy he is, he will always be an “excess male,” and thus disposable.

Strahan, the reviews editor for Locus and aprolific podcaster, editor, and anthologist, assembles some of the best and brightest of military-themed SFF for the sixth entry in the Infinity series. With a starting point of “the future of warfare,” authors like Carrie Vaughn, An Owomoyela, Garth Nix, Aliette de Bodard, Elizabeth Bear, and a dozen others offer up inventive, action-packed visions that demonstrate you don’t need hundreds of thousands of words to establish solid worldbuilding and well-developed characters. The focus ranges from the small-scale to the epic, as each story provides a sobering vision of the future of war—conflated here with the future of humanity in general, which is, sadly, probably not so science fictional an idea.

Walton’s expansive, three-book sci-fi thought experiment (now collected in a massive single volume) begins with an outlandish, brilliant premise, and only gets weirder from there. What if the goddess Athena, enamored with the concepts explored in Plato’s Republic, decided on an apparent whim (as is her wont as a goddesses) to see how it would turn out if she tried to set up a real-world version? In order to do so, she gathers scholars, philosophers, and idealistic dreamers from across time, all of whom, at one (greatly removed) time or another, prayed to her for just such a circumstance. Together, these disparate souls construct the framework for the perfect city (along with a few far-future robots that help with the literal construction efforts, leaving the philosophers to, you know, philosophize). Add to this 10,000 bewildered 10-year-old slave children, purchased to become the first generation of educated citizens, and the god Apollo, curious enough to change himself into a mortal to check this whole thing out and see what he can learn, and you’ve got yourself quite a show.

The second novel in the Centenal Cycle returns us to a future where the world has been divided into population groups of 100,000, who vote as one in global elections overseen by a powerful agency called Information. The newly-elected supermajority government is going through some growing pains, however, and the assassination of a new governor in the microdemocracy of DarFur brings Information’s legitimacy into question—something that could destabilize the entire world. Making matters worse is the increasingly desperate plotting of Heritage, a political party on the wane and desperate to keep its influence—no matter the cost. Building on the pent-up violence of Infomocracy with a lattice of “fake news” immediacy, the agents of Information must work to maintain order and uncover conspiracies before it’s too late.

Newitz, the co-founder of io9, delivers seriously plausible—if chilling—future medicine in her debut, imagining a world where pharma pirates reverse-engineer drugs the way people jailbreak software today. Judith “Jack” Chen, who fancies herself a Robin Hood figure, offering affordable life-saving drugs to those who can’t afford them, hacks a far less benevolent drug called Zacuity, which supposedly makes people feel good about working long hours for their jobs—but when people start dying, she discovers the truth: Zacuity makes people addicted to working, to the point of insanity and even death. A thrilling pursuit and race against time ensues as Jack flees two determined agents—one of them an artificially intelligent robot beginning to awaken within to the soul withinits own programming—while trying to get the truth out into the open. In this terrifyingly plausible post-climate change future, pharma hackers—both blackhat and white—are a vital part of the healthcare system in which “better living through chemistry” is taken to terrifying extremes.

Clines delivers a delightful, charming sci-fi romp blending National Treasure and Doctor Who. Eli Teague waiting in the small town of Sanders for the return of the Traveler, a woman driving a souped-up Model-A Ford and wearing a tricorn hat who has appeared to him twice before, fleeing a faceless man intending to kill her. When she does finally appear again, he joins her on an adventure through time, chasing the literal embodiment of the American Dream and being chased in turn by implacable—and somewhat terrifying—government agents hellbent on stamping out free will and individual freedom. This being a Clines novel, there are yet more unexpected twists as Eli and Harriet “Harry” Pritchard time travel through two centuries of history, following clues and encountering other temporal travelers.

In Gaiman’s beloved debut novel, a businessman slips into the magical underworld beneath London, and while London itself is just the regular old city you might actually visit, Gaiman’s imagination creates an incredible fantasy world below, with a mythology based on the tube stops of the London Underground. Including the story “How the Marquis Got His Coat Back,” this new edition offers Gaiman’s preferred text of the novel alongside charming illustrations by Chris Riddell, making it the ultimate version of a new classic.

With illustrations by none other than Russel T. Davies, this first-ever collection of Whovian poetry is as clever, whimsical, and occasionally heartbreaking as you’d expect from everybody’s favorite Time Lord. Goss, author of several Doctor Who and Torchwood novels and other books, offers up poems that manage to unravel the twisty, timey-wimey history of the character, as in a poem in which The Doctor reflects on his various incarnations with pithy couplets—until he gets to notorious Number Six, and launches into a rambling paragraph that even name-checks companion Peri. These details will make even poetry-hating Whovians smile, and Davies’ charming ink drawings seal the deal.

Hidden from most, the Unseen World of magic is ruled by competing Houses, who compete every generation in the magical tourney known as the Turning, which determines which house holds ultimate influence over the others. Sydney, a powerful magician once enslaved by the House of Shadows—which acts as a power source for all of magic by forcing sacrifices like Sydney to pay the painful price that comes with dealing it—is hired by House Beauchamps to compete in the Turning on their behalf. Meanwhile, magic everywhere is weakening, siphoned away by a mysterious darkness. Sydney may be the only magician with sufficient power and skill to combat what’s happening—but she’s not certain she wants to. Her escape from the House of Shadows left her more inclined to destroy magic, rather than save it. This is another dark delight from Howard, whose Roses and Rot was one of our favorite books of 2016.

Leckie returns to the universe of the every award-winning Imperial Radch trilogy with a completely standalone story centered on Ingray Aughskold, who hatches a plan to reclaim a powerful family’s heirlooms stolen and hidden by the neman Pahlad Budrakim (whose pronouns, if you’re curious how Leckie is handling gender this time around, are e, eir, and em). Ingray bribes a broker to smuggle Pahlad out of the toughest prison in the universe—and unwittingly drops him into a cauldron of intrigue set in motion by her scheming brother, a rival planet that frames Pahlad for murder in a play against her politically-involved mother, and the machinations of an alien diplomat with motivations of their own. And this all becomes even more complicated when Pahlad reveals that e never stole the antiques in the first place—just one more wrinkle a typically complex, culturally-rich, and idea-inspiring Ann Leckie adventure.

To those who’ve been anticipating the new Star Trek TV series, Mack delivers a fantastic novel set on the Starship Shenzhou, where Lieutenant Michael Burnham has just been named First Officer despite the lingering doubts of Captain Philippa Georgiou. A human raised by Vulcans, Burnham knows she must prove herself, and the opportunity arrives when a newly-founded Federation colony comes under attack by a powerful, ancient alien vessel that has emerged from hiding in the deepest part of the planet’s oceans. The Federation concludes the colony is expendable in order to neutralize the awesome threat, but Burnham sees a way to avoid the deaths of thousands of people—by risking herself, tackling her own inner demons, and infiltrating the alien ship.

Neill’s third A Devil’s Isle novel reverses roles a bit as Claire Connolly, the Sensitive fighting to control the magic that infects her, searches desperately for Liam Quinn, the bounty hunter who broke all the rules by refusing to lock her up in Devil’s Isle with all the other paranormally-powered entities in New Orleans, who were changed after the Veil between worlds was destroyed, swamping the city in magic. Quinn is suspected of having killed a government agent, and Claire knows that she must find him before the authorities do—and her list of enemies is getting longer every moment. Assisted by those who know her role in the magical war that almost destroyed the city, Claire races against time to prove Liam is innocent, which she soon discovers is a task more difficult than she imagined.

The first of a new military SF series in the same universe as Sawyer’s Lazarus War books, The Eternity War: Pariah introduces the Simulant Operations Programme—mankind’s elite soldiers—and veteran Lieutenant Keira Jenkins. Jenkins leads the Jackals, a squad of untested recruits who make up for their lack of experience with intense eagerness to get their share of the Programme’s glory—a chance that comes when a terrorist group seizes control of a space station. Dispatched to deal with the problem, Jenkins and the Jackals discover there’s a conspiracy afoot, one that might result in more action than they want, in the form of an all-out galactic war.

The concluding volume of Wilde’s inventive Bone Universe trilogy picks up directly after Cloudbound, in which childhood friends Kirit and Nat were thrown from the Bone Towers to fall through the clouds that have always marked the edge of the known world. On the ground, they discover the terrifying truth: their city of living bone is failing, and will soon crumble. Despite what they’ve been through, Nat heads back up to warn the citizens of the towers of the coming apocalypse, while Kirit sets off to find a new home for their people. The world below is strange and baffling, and the political maze to be navigated by those who would save the world is complex and dangerous. The final installment cements the setting of this Andre Norton Award-winning series as of the most imaginative we’ve encountered in recent years.

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases.

Structured similarly to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Simmons’ award-winning sci-fi classic is a singular creation in a singular universe, starting slowly and building into one of the most fully-realized space operas ever created. Filled with fascinating, flawed characters, it tells the tale of a humanity that has formed an arrogant, galaxy-spanning Hegemony after ruining planet Earth. Into this sprawling comes the Shrike, one of the most memorable creations inmodern SF—a creature assembled from razor blades, half-organic, half-mechanical, able to control the flow of time, a deity worshiped by several cults. Across four books, The Hyperion Cantos chews up and spits out every grand genre idea in the playbook (interdimensional travel, revolt by artificial intelligences, time travel), and invents a few new ones in the bargain. It’s essential reading, and it starts here.

Poore tells the story of Milo, a soul who has been reincarnated 9,995 times so far, into various epochs and realities, in various bodies, with varying levels of success. There’s a hard limit of 10,000 reincarnations in the pursuit of perfection, however, and that means Milo—easily the oldest soul on Earth—is quickly approaching the end of the line. In-between reincarnations, Milo finds himself in a netherworld where his lodgings reflect the quality of the life he’s just led, and two spirits in the form of nagging old ladies critique his failures. Complicating things is Milo’s enduring love for Death herself, who he calls Suzie. Milo’s thousands of lives are sketched out with efficiency and economy, offering the wonderful sense that Poore’s universe is limitless, and the adventures, endless.

The eighth Cassie Palmer novel finds the Seer of Pythia trying to locate demon-spawn John Pritkin so she can save him—but as usual, a riotous, uncooperative universe keeps throwing obstacles in her way. These range from reporters demanding she speak on the record, to origami animals rampaging around the casino she calls home, to battling armies from the past, to a war mage who has kidnapped her acolyte Rhea. It’s one surprise after another, and with the ideas coming this fast and furious, it’s certain to delight fans old and new.

“There are strange things in the world, June. Things older than we know,” June Stefanov’s grandfather tells her, describing a strange mechanical soldier he encountered at Stalingrad as a young man. June quickly discovers this to be true, as her work seeking out ancient machines for a mysterious employer leads her to discover the avtomats—near-immortal clockwork beings. Peter Alexeyvich and Elena Petrova are avtomats revived in early 18th century Moscow by the Czar’s mechanician. After the fall of Imperial Russia, Peter (who looks like a young man) and Elena (who appears to be a young girl) flee Russia, eventually colliding with June. All three become ensnared in a war between mechanical beings who predate much of human history. The scale is epic, the action is fast-paced, and the ideas are crazy good—abut what you’d expect from the author who gave us Roboocalypse.

The third volume in Milán’s story of Paradise, the humans abducted into it who now lead armies on the backs of T-Rexes and Triceratops, and the gods who have unleashed their greatest weapon—the Grey Angels—in an attempt to rid Paradise of sin. This volume is as twisty and dense as the first two. The Grey Angels were defeated in battle but are not gone—they remain a mortal threat, and the powers that be among the humans continue to scheme and plot. Montse, youngest daughter of Emperor Felipe, is kidnapped by agents of Trebizon, and the Grey Angels work behind the scenes to foment chaos. The scale is huge, while the shift away from pitched battles and toward political gambits is no less exciting.

Baxter takes a second stab at writing an authorized sequel to a classic by H.G. Wells (after The Time Ships)—this time extending the story of The War of the Worlds. In 1920, the Martians launch a second attack on an Earth understandably different from the one we know from history. The invaders are determined to avoid the mistakes that saw their first invasion end in ruin, but humanity is equally determined to use every dirty trick in the book to defeat them (including making use of some of the technology the aliens left littering our world the first time). Although the scope is global, much of the story is narrated by Julie Elphinstone, sister-in-law to the unnamed narrator of Wells’ original novel (here given the name Walter Jenkins). She is the clear-eyed center to this pulse-pounding steampunk story, authorized by the Wells estate.

The first book in Jemisin’s Broken Earth series, Hugo-winner The Fifth Season, is an explosion of ideas, twisting plot points, and clever point-of-view puzzles. The second, The Obelisk Gate, is a masterwork of world-building, developing the history and culture of the Stillness while setting up the clash between mother and daughter that will define a new age. Neither one disappointed in the least, and the final book, The Stone Sky, is certain to be one of the most satisfying concluding novels of the year. Essun has inherited Alabaster’s power to bend the world to her will, and intends to create a place where Orogenes are safe and free. Her daughter Nassun, however, sees what her mother cannot: the power she wields cannot be pure and free from corruption, no matter the intent behind it.

A complement to last year’s Urban Allies, this volume assembles some of the most popular writers of urban fantasy to tell stories focused not on the heroes of their universes, but the villains. Since everybody knows the bad guys are always more interesting, this means there’s plenty of great stories to dig into. Featuring works by Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Jonathan Mayberry, Kevin Hearne, and many others, exploring the darkest aspects of their respective fictional worlds. The result is a treat for their fans, and an opportunity to taste-test an urban fantasy author you’ve never read before.

Combining the grit and wit of a noir detective novel with the outlandish imagination that has given us bizarre classics like Vurt, Noon tells the story of world divided by the monster-infested Dusklands, located between the always-daylit Dayzone and the dark, dangerous Nocturna. A private investigator named Nyquist is hired to find a missing teen girl named Eleanor Bale. His investigation takes him to Nocturna, and into a web of deceit and betrayal that has something to do with a serial killer named Quicksilver—and, ultimately, the fate of the entire world.

Crashlanding on the icy planet Valinda—gripped in a long winter that will soon give way to a deadly summer—Delia Kempf finds herself pursued by the violent, terrifying Skelt. The Skelt want the scientific knowledge Kempf possesses, and Delia is forced to make unlikely allies with friendly aliens to flee south, and make the dangerous crossing over the equator as the temperatures rise. There, they find other survivors of the starship crash, and make a final play for rescue in the valley of Mahkanda, a desperate dash across an unforgiving and unfamiliar landscape. Originally published as two novellas, this bind-up offers the complete story.

In Barker’s fantasy debut, Girton the Club-Foot is born disabled, and enslaved as a child. Rescued from servitude, he becomes an apprentice assassin, training to bring justice throughout the realm. When a plot to kill the heir to the throne comes to light, Girton is ordered to pretend to be a high-born son training as a squire in order infiltrate court and unmask the schemers. Guided by his master, Merela Karn, Girton has to navigate typical teenage concerns while enduring a gauntlet of dangerous adult problems and keep up the illusion of nobility. As the tension rises, Girton’s intelligence and bravery are tested as he seeks to complete his first task as an instrument of justice in a court where nothing is as it seems.

Hemstreet expands on the ideas originated in his Crichton-esque debut The God Wave, asking a simple question: if you unlocked you innate superpowers, how would you use them? In this sequel, the team that did just that remains at odds, plotting against each other and the world at large—but also using their newfound abilities to blackmail society to change, or else. Nothing less than world peace and universal healthcare is on the agenda. The remnant of the team led by Chuck Brenton has allied themselves with the mysterious Benefactors, who have their own remarkable abilities—and their own agenda.

Fletcher returns to the incredible universe of his Manifest Delusions books—following the masterful Beyond Redemption and the self-published sequel The Mirror’s Truth—and a world where anything you truly believe becomes reality. In such a world as this, what happens if your faith begins to fail? As children, sisters Zerfall and Hölle shared a vision from god telling them to create the Swarm, a hell where souls are trapped forever, and to create a religion to funnel unsuspecting spirits into it. But Zerfall is beginning to doubt whether the vision was divine in the first place, and even that Hölle is actually her sister. Waking up after attempting to murder Hölle, Zerfall searches for the truth as she suffers from partial amnesia, made no less confusing by the shifting realities around her.

Los Angeles, 1970—James Brimstone was once a child magician, but now steps into the shoes of his recently deceased mentor and becomes a private investigator. His first case comes from an adult film actress, who reports that an older performer attacked her via snake emerging from her mouth. Brimstone smells magic, and proceeds to take the reader on a journey through a pulp-inspired L.A., where magic and the occult are woven into the fabric of reality. Bedding his client’s friends, throwing punches, and dealing with everything from demons to disturbing Japanese pornography, Brimstone travels ever-deeper into the city’s underbelly in pursuit of the truth.

Reid’s latest blends a Silicon Valley startup satire with a chilling sci-fi thriller. A social networking tool named Phluttr becomes a wildly-popular behemoth due to its advanced technology, but when the company that owns Phluttr purchases a startup run by three friends, Kuba, Ellie, and Mitchell, the new code turns out to be the missing piece that causes Phluttr to attain self-awareness. Trying to guide, educate, and prevent Phluttr from destroying humanity proves to be the greatest challenge these young geniuses have ever tackled—and things only get more dangerous when Phluttr notices their efforts, and takes action.

The Faraman Polity rules an empire through the twin strengths of its military and the psychic powers of the Talents in the Halls of Law; no one can lie to a Talent, and they can also glean truth from inanimate objects. Ruled almost exclusively by women, these two pillars of the Polity’s power exist in an uneasy alliance—until an invasion by the misogynistic Halians decimates the Hall and most of the military leaders. Kerida Nast is a soldier hiding her psychic abilities, and after the disaster, she finds herself joining a group of secretive magicians known as Feelers who are following an ancient prophecy to completion. In the midst of chaos, Kerida knows they must locate an heir to the throne of the Polity—and they must do so before the Halians do.

In the near future, a brilliant astrophysicist named Reginald Straifer discovers a distant star that behaves unusually. Suspecting it is either a key discovery in our understanding of the universe or an artificial, alien creation, he convinces Planet United Missions to send one of 12 light-speed convoys to investigate. Even at the speed of light, it will take hundreds of years to arrive, so the convoys are crewed by clones of Straifer, engineer Akane Nakamura, and artificial intelligence programmer Jamal Kaeden. A young and old version of each clone exists simultaneously in order to pass down experience and knowledge, but each generation of clones is also different from the previous—and overseen by the persistent AI of Convoy Seven. Soaked in the spirit of classic SF sensawunda, this ambitious debut explores the complexities of such an immense voyage, which pile up in surprising ways as the clones get further from the familiar.

Crowley explores the possibilities of reanimation as punishment in a world where convicted criminals are harvested post-execution, reanimated into thoughtless zombies, and put to work. When Schneider Wrack is convicted of a crime he’s pretty sure he didn’t commit, he’s sentenced to zombification. Reanimated after his execution, Wrack’s zombie body is transported to the hellish world of Ocean, where he is pressed into endless labor on a huge ship, working until his undead body simply falls apart. But then Wrack wakes up again, finding himself trapped in his rotting body—and contemplating an uprising of the undead.

The second installment of the Malorum Gates series returns to the remnants of the magical, non-human Eledoreans a few years after their slaughter at the hands of the non-magical human Acrasians. Young Suvi is now Queen, and her twin brother Nels heads out against all advice to find a way to defeat their enemies. The unhappy, secretive Blackthorne brings a master weaponsmith to Suvi, a being who can produce the guns that might change the course of both the war and the parallel battle against the Malorum, dangerous creatures that roam New Eledore. Briskly paced and character-focused, this flintlock fantasy series eschews conventions.

This grimdark debut is set in the crumbling Sekemleth Empire, once powerful, now ruled by a feckless usurper and a weak aristocracy. Lord Orhan Emmereth knows the only way to save the empire is to find new management, so he hires a company of mercenaries to infiltrate the city of Sorlost and murder the emperor and his court. Among the mercenaries is a young, over-educated drug addict named Marith—a boy who manages to kill a dragon as the company travels to Sorlost, and who is much, much more than he seems.

The sequel to Breath of Earth opens in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake that devastated San Francisco—an earthquake that, in this version of history, hit because the city’s geomancers were betrayed and killed—all save Ingrid Carmichael, who barely survived. She flees north to escape Ambassador Blum and the Unified Pacific, who want to use her mysterious powers to assert their dominance over the world. After her allies Lee and Fenris are kidnapped, she seeks the assistance of none other than Theodore Roosevelt, another Unified Pacific Ambassador, but even his influence proves futile when they reach Seattle, and Ingrid begins to realize her powers may be precisely what starts the war that will tear the world apart.

In the second book of Islington’s Licanius trilogy, magic is no longer forbidden thanks to the attack from beyond the wall protecting Andarra, and an edict by newly-installed Northwarden Wirr—but no one in the north truly trust the beings who wield it, including the last Augur, Davian, and the Shadow Asha. Davian struggles to master his powers and repair the wall that protects them all, while Wirr attempts to rally the divided people of the land to defend themselves against the true threat—the darkness beyond the wall. Meanwhile, the amnesiac Caeden slowly regains his memories—and each piece of himself that returns brings with it a new certainty that this ancient war is much more twisted than anyone realizes. Slowly, politics fall to the wayside as the danger grows irrefutable, as everyone begins to prepare for the day the wall fails—if it hasn’t already. This series is pure, old school sprawling epic fantasy—if you’ve been looking for the next Wheel of Time, it may be just the treasure you seek.

Celebrating the new voices in fantasy that will define the future of the genre, Beagle assembles an impressive roster of 19 authors who will introduce the unaware to the Next Big Things. The list of authors includes many you’ll recognize from awards ballots over the past few years: Max Gladstone, Alyssa Wong, Usman T. Malik, Ursula Vernon, and many others. The tone, subject matter, and precise sub-genres change from story to story, and the end result is a varied and entertaining anthology with something for every reader—and one that will likely introduce every reader to at least one great new voice.A Song for Quiet, by Cassandra Khaw
(August 29, Tor.com Publishing—Paperback)

Khaw is having a standout year. Her full-length debut, Food of the Gods, provided a gruesome and riotous spring, and A Song for Quiet builds on the wonderfully weird world she revealed in last year’s novella Hammers on Bone. John Persons, private investigator of all things unseemly, takes a backseat in this romp through the universe. Instead, we accompany Deacon James, traveling bluesman and monster incubator, as he confronts the madness within and around him, the latter horrors unleashed by Deacon’s saxophone. No one is dancing the line between madcap and macabre these days quite like Cassandra Khaw.

Sometimes you want to read a space opera that makes no apologies about the “opera” part, and this is it: Spencer Ellsworth’s debut novella goes big and refuses to go home as it tells the story of a galactic civil war fought between an all-powerful empire and a Resistance force seeking a long-lost artifact that will help it shift the balance of power in the universe. Did we mention that there are giant space bugs, sun-sized spiders, and entire planets populated by cyborgs? Well, then.

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases.

The sequel to Dark Run finds former pirate Ichabod Drift and crew deep into unexpectedly dangerous territory. When the crew of the Keiko visit a pleasure planet to spend their ill-gotten gains, they are hired by a powerful crime boss to retrieve a message from mining colony Uragan before a huge storm cuts the planet off from all communication. Drift and company assume easy money. What they find instead is a politically volatile situation that erupts into violent revolution. The crew is stranded, forcing them to pick sides, form alliances, and think fast as the action revs up to a breakneck pace.

Set directly after the events of the film Rogue One, Golden’s latest Star Wars adventure finds the Empire in unfamiliar territory: on the defensive. Seeking to reestablish its primacy in the galaxy, it turns to the Inferno Squad, its most elite Imperial Soldiers. Dispatched to deal with the extremist rebels known as the Partisans via infiltration and destruction from within, the Inferno Squad knows that failure is not an option. A tense game ensues as the soldiers of Inferno Squad are tested to their limits—and beyond—by a group of rebels as ruthless and committed as the Empire they resist. If you’ve ever wondered how the Empire kept its iron grip on the galaxy, Inferno Squad is part of the answer.

Hearne collects short stories features the adventures of the Iron Druid, 2,000-year old Atticus O’Sullivan, spanning many different time periods and locations, from ancient Egypt, to modern-day Kansas, to the California Gold Rush, to Shakespearean England. O’Sullivan is pitted against old gods, flesh-eating ghouls, literal witches, and sentient elemental forces seeking to bleed the world dry. Vampires, wraiths, and other assorted bogeymen (and bogeywomen) round out the rogue’s gallery Atticus must face, making each story hilarious and exciting—and the perfect book for fans of The Iron Druid Chronicles as they wait for the last book in the series.

Any thoughtful reading of Peter Pan reveals Peter as a rather dark and cruel character beneath the flying, shadow-fleeing free spirit on the surface. Henry makes this subtext text in a retelling in which Peter Pan kidnaps children and forces them to play violent games—as so Captain Hook tells it. Revealed to be one of the first and once the favorite of the Lost Boys, the one-handed pirate explains how he became Peter’s bitter enemy. It’s a mature take on a childhood favorite that adds a whole new dimension to Neverland and the mythology of the boys who didn’t want to grow up.

In a desolate post-apocalyptic future, people struggle to make a life on the shifting, swirling sand that buried the old civilization. Palmer is a sand diver, skilled in going below the shifting desert to the city beneath to retrieve valuable objects to sell, and keep his family alive. But when Palmer is betrayed and lost below, his family must face the possibility that the toehold on survival they’ve maintained may be slipping away completely. They may soon fall victim to the brigands who threaten their hardscrabble shanty town—or much worse. It’s another brilliant vision of the post-apocalypse from the creator of Wool.

The second in Kuhn’s enormously fun superhero urban fantasy series sees Aveda Jupiter (aka Annie Chang) struggling to deal with the ascension of her assistant, Evie Tanaka, into full-blown superheroine status. As Evie’s popularity among the demon-fearing populace of San Francisco threatens to eclipse her own, Aveda must deal with more than jealousy—in the aftermath of their epic battle against the force of the Otherworld, there hasn’t been a demon sighting in months, leaving Aveda bored and rudderless. So when Evie gets engaged, Aveda is more than happy to throw herself into being the Maid of Honor and planning the greatest wedding ever for her best friend. Which means when a supernatural force begins attacking brides, Aveda has to rise to the occasion to be the greatest hero—and bestest friend—she can possibly be.

You might think you know all there is to know about the Star Wars universe, but even if you routinely dominate your local pub’s sci-fi-themed trivia night, Leong’s brilliant collection of Venn diagrams, pie charts, and other visually inventive infographics will surprise you with their unique presentation and depth of information. Whether it’s a diagram of Yoda’s personality tics, an Org Chart of the Imperial Government, or other similarly business-inspired graphical representations of Imperial and Rebel info, this is truly the book for the Star Wars geeks who prefer visual learning.

Brilliantly blending epic fantasy tropes and stock characters with police procedurals, Lucas launches a new series set in the cramped, riotous city of Yenara, where shifty humans, wily mages, mind-controlling elves, drug-slinging orcs, and every other kind of creature lives and fights. Keeping order in this messy place is the City Guard, known as Watch Wardens. City newcomer Rem wakes up hungover and penniless in jail, and eagerly joins the Watch when he can’t pay his fines any other way. Partnered with a mace-wielding dwarf named Torval who is deeply unimpressed with his new human partner, Rem must investigate a murder with personal connections for Torval while dealing with the chaos and danger that is Yenara.

In the wealthy city-state of Ravenwood, Corran, Rigan, and Kell Valmonde are Guild Undertakers, using family magic to ensure the dead make their journey to the afterlife unmolested. Corran in particular is very skilled, and often hears the secrets of the dead as they pass through his family’s care. Ravenwood is a city of corruption, deception, and magic, ruled by a Lord Mayor who uses murder and magic in equal measure to maintain power. But the city is under siege by summoned monsters, and when Corran hears explosive secrets that hint at a dark conspiracy, the family is pinned between powerful forces—and fighting back could cost them everything.

The sequel to Outriders sees an elite team of near-immortal super soldiers tasked with the impossible. As tensions between Earth and the Martian colonies reach Cold War levels, an autonomous spaceship with devastating “orbital strike” capabilities goes missing in the vicinity of the red planet. If it falls into the wrong hands, it could upset the delicate balance between the two sides. The Outriders are the best of the best, but even they will need every shred of guts, brains, and brawn when their investigation leads directly to the powerful Martian People’s Collective Republic, where they’ll have to navigate the deadly maze of secrets, alliances, and plots to prevent the situation from blowing up into a devastating Hot War.

The fifth Alex Craft book finds the Grave Witch in Nekros City facing the one thing she never expected: the walking dead. Craft has raised specters and shades, conversed with the dead, and is even romantically involved with Death himself. But she always believed dead bodies are dead bodies; they don’t get up and cause mischief. When a rash of crimes is attributed to reanimated corpses, Craft finds herself reluctantly partnered with Briar Darque of the Magical Crimes Investigation Bureau. But even with that support, it’ll take everything Craft has to get to the bottom of the mystery before things go from bad to really, really bad.

Dr. Lauryn Jefferson is the daughter of a Baptist preacher who chose science and medicine over God while working in an ER in Chicago. When a cartel begins dealing a new drug that turns users into demons, she’s rescued not by the scalpel but by Talon Hunter, a sword-wielding, motorcycle-riding soldier of God. Powerful forces are using the drug to establish a literal Hell on Earth, and Lauryn must find her lost faith—and fast—if they’re going to prevent it. As the conspiracy to let demons infest the weak and tortured of the city is revealed, its roots are shown to go back centuries, to a group known as the Soldiers of El Elyon—men literally chosen to do God’s will on Earth. Defeating the threat will require both faith and science in equal measure.

Vaughn delivers a tightly-plotted sci-fi mystery set in a future after The Fall, a series of devastating plagues and ecological disasters that left civilization broken and most culture and technology lost. In California, people live in a loose confederation of towns where families produce only what they need, and where procreation must be approved by the local Town Council—symbolized by the awarding of a banner to the house. Investigator Enid travels to the town of Pasadan to look into the death of an unpopular handyman named Sero. She encounters such aggressive disinterest in Sero’s killer, she’s driven to dig deeper, even as memories from her own past bubble to the surface. What she and her partner discover in Pasadan might have the power to shake the foundations of this fragile world.

Stross’s eighth Laundry Files book finds both put-upon hero Bob Howard and The Laundry he’s served so tirelessly thrust into the public eye after an invasion by the Host of Air and Darkness. Howard must deal with television cameras following his every move as he’s tasked with being the public face of the newly-exposed secret unit. But that’s the least of his problems—like every other government-funded agency in the modern day, there’s a push to privatize The Laundry itself, a possibility that makes the paperwork-soaked frustrations of Bob’s past brushes with occult horrors pale in comparison.

Kate Standish is sent to the forest planet of Huginn by her employer, the enormous corporation Songheuser, which she suspects had her boss killed prior to her assignment. On Huginn she finds very few of the farmers and mill workers are interested in a death officially ruled an accident—they have their own problems dealing with a rash of eco-terrorism and the ravages of the strange, sentient dogs native to the planet. Anxiety-sufferer Kate has her own therapy dog that helps her keep her head as she investigates an ancient diary dating back to the founding of the colony, a book found in the house her dead boss once occupied. It’s a murder mystery set in a fascinating sci-fi universe that slowly unfolds the history of Huginn in perfectly-paced episodes that lead to a satisfying conclusion.

The fifth and final book in Wells’ Raksura series is a direct sequel to The Edge of Worlds, and picks up the action immediately after that book’s cliffhanger. Betrayed by a former ally, the Raksura and their Groundling friends are thrust into a race to save their kidnapped kin while the Fell and the Empire of Kish plot attacks that might destroy everything in their path. The kidnapped Raksura discover their captors have a deeper plan involving a magical artifact that could unlock more danger and destruction than even the Fell can muster. It becomes a race against time as the Raksura must risk everything they have and everything they are to stop what very well might be the end of the world.

The City is a towering edifice of corroding metal, twelve tiers ruled by the Officers in the name of the semi-mythical Captain. The higher tiers are for the rich and the powerful, the lower tiers for the poor and oppressed, and the Middens—the enormous trash heap in the canyon below the City—is for the outcasts. Danyl was kidnapped from a nursery in the highest levels of the city 20 years ago, and now eeks out a life in the Middens, desperate to enter even the city’s lowest levels. Alania was also in that nursery—but was raised as the ward of a powerful officer. When Alania escapes an ambush and crashes into the Middens, the two meet and find themselves pursued by Officers. To survive, they must discover the mystery of their connection—a mystery that might reshape not just their own existence, but the fate of the rotting City itself.

The second in Durst’s Queens of Renthia series finds Queen Daleina of Aratay still suffering—from both the psychological effects of the coronation day massacre that secured her crown, and the physical effects of a fatal illness sapping her ability to control the bloodthirsty spirits that inhabit the woods. A suitable heir must be found, but the massacre killed most of them, and the women being trained to control the spirits keep dying in the attempt. A powerful candidate is finally identified, but the woodswoman Naelin would rather protect her family than rule a kingdom. Political scheming, spirit slaughters, and betrayals from within the palace all contribute to rising tension as the situation worsens—and the spirits wait impatiently for the Queen to weaken enough for them to surge forward and kill everyone.

Voada Paorach has inherited her family’s ability to see the dead—most of whom don’t realize they are dead. She helps as she can to guide the ghosts to the land beyond, but she keeps her abilities secret—as her family has ever since the Mundoan Empire conquered the land. But then she encounters a ghost different from the others she’s known—a ghost that seems very aware of its status and implores her to walk a new and more dangerous path, one that will show her exactly how powerful her people are, and how dangerous the future will be.

Brown extrapolates an alternate America from a single changed event: Ronald Regan does not survive the 1981 attempt on his life. From there, a horrifying new reality emerges: an America with walls on both borders, whose heartland—a vaguely-defined zone called the Tropic of Kansas—is in full-throated revolt. Technology is a mix of the analog and the drone, and the unsettled land roils with revolution, militias, and political skulduggery. Foster siblings Sig and Tanaia are at the center of it all: Sig as a dissident making his way through the Tropic towards the revolutionary seat of New Orleans, and his sister Tania as a disgraced government agent ordered to infiltrate the militias of the Tropic to track him down. It’s all horrifyingly familiar, and as Tania’s immersion in the underground slowly transforms her into a player in the revolution, the complex strands of history start to twist in yet more surprising ways.

On a strange planet that exists in only two dimensions of space—but also two of time—the sun has a bizarre, wobbling orbit that creates a constantly shifting habitable zone. That means the city of Baharabad must be constantly dismantled on one end and rebuilt on the other. Seth and Theo are symbiant lifeforms (Seth is a Walker who can only orient himself and move along the East-West axis; Theo is a Sider who can use infrasound waves projected North-South to gather information) who work as surveyors for the city’s reconstruction. One day they encounter a chasm in the path of the city that appears to have no bottom. Exploring it will change their world. Per usual for Egan, conceptualizing the math and physics that form the foundation of this bizarre sci-fi tale takes some doing, but the results are well worth the effort.

In an alternate 1936 where the collective trauma of World War I has caused the Bloom, a sudden appearance of psychic abilities in a small portion of the population, American-born Kim Tavistock has a very useful ability: Spill, which causes people to tell her their secrets. Working as a journalist in Britain, where she was raised, Kim is drawn into a psychic arms race—the Nazis are light years ahead in weaponizing psychics. With Britain roiling with the instability caused by King Edward’s approaching abdication, things are looking very grim— the Nazis are planning a full-scale invasion on the backs of their psychics, and Kim will have to risk everything, including her life, to go undercover and ally with the enemy in order to prevent complete disaster.

The first book in Kress’ Yesterday’s Kin series (expanded from the award-winning novella) kicks off with the arrival of aliens in a spaceship that lands gracefully in New York harbor. The visitors announce they are unable to leave their ship due to the atmospheric and gravitational differences between their home and Earth, and that they will only deal with the United Nations. When Dr. Marianne Jenner, an unknown scientist working on the human genome, is invited to the alien embassy (along with the Secretary General of the U.N. and a handful of ambassadors), she can’t say why. But what she learns there changes everything—because if the aliens are to be believed, the world is heading towards a disaster in ten short months, unless the best and brightest minds of humanity can prevent it. But for not everyone seems to want to.

Levine’s Andre Norton Award-winning steampunk series continues with a rousing adventure that finds smart, fearless heroine Arabella Ashby launching a rescue operation for her fiancé, Captain Prakash Singh, who has been captured by the French in the wake of Napoleon’s escape from his lunar prison. Discovering Singh is being held on Venus, Ashby recruits reluctant privateer Daniel Fox and his ship Touchstone to bring the fight to her enemies—but her brother sends along Lady Corey as a chaperone. Arriving on Venus, Ashby and friends discover Napoleon has developed a superweapon that changes everything—and it’s up to them to stop him.

Shaw launches a new Victorian fantasy series featuring Dr. Greta Helsing, who makes her living supplying the undead with necessities—blood to vampires, antibiotics to ghouls, replacement bones to mummies. While simply trying to help care for the dead—and otherwise—Helsing is unwittingly caught up in the struggle against a group of supernatural monks who attack the undead and any humans they deem wicked, turning London upside-down and filling the residents—immortal and mortal alike—with terror. Greta’s particular skills and experience come in handy in the battles that come. It’s hard to resist a setup like that, and Shaw’s debut delivers all the fun and mayhem you’d expect.

The sequel to Christopher’s Made to Kill spins out the latest case of Ray Electromatic, the Electric Detective, and the last operational robot in 1960s Los Angeles. Ray has a 24-hour memory limit, and though he wears the trenchcoat of a noirish private eye, he’s really an assassin, taking orders from his secretary—a supercomputer named Ada, who fills him in on what he’s forgotten every day. Lately, his marks keep turning up dead before he can get to them, and when he’s hired to find out what an old man is hiding—then do him in—it begins to look like Ray’s being used as a cog in a much larger machine. Combining a solid mystery with the style and dialog of hardboiled crime novels, the Raymond Electromatic books offer a surprisingly sympathetic protagonist, considering he’s just a heartless hunk of metal and whirring memory tape.

This debut novel offers a speculative take on the Russian revolution, rife with dark magic and arcane technology. As a revolution threatens the Crescent Empire, the Five Daughters of the Moon—the children of royalty—hold the keys to its fate. The destinies of these girls—from six-year-old Alina to Celestia, 22 and the next empress—are intertwined with the machinations of Prataslav, the ambitious advisor to the court, and his terrible invention: a “Great Thinking Machine” that can predict the future. The truth of what gives such a machine its power may bring about the end of an empire. With lush prose and a immersive sense of place, this brief, evocative work—the first half of a duology that continues with The Sisters of the Crescent Empress in November—will bring an icy chill to the summer months.

Dozois once again compiles a fantastic overview of the best short-form sci-fi from the last year. This thorough, satisfyingly huge volume includes gems from Stephen Baxter, Ken Liu, Carrie Vaughn, James Patrick Kelly, Alastair Reynolds, and others. As always, the collection includes Dozois’ lengthy introduction, which considers the directions genre headed in during the prior year, as well as a detailed recommended reading list that will ensure your TBR pile is bulging.

If your tastes in the fantastic run toward dark corners, this is the collection you’ve waited all year for. Guran has assembled some of the most disturbing, horrifying, and downright frightening stories from some of the best writers working today, including Nadia Bulkin, N. K. Jemisin, Seanan McGuire, Fran Wilde, and many more. This is the ideal collection for anyone who thinks there’s simply too much hope and optimism in most speculative work.

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases.

Celebrated short story writer Karen Tidbeck spins out her dystopian debut novel from a bizarrely exhausting central idea: in distant colonies, every product and object must be named out-loud constantly, or it loses its coherence and turns into a shapeless sludge. Society has become a rigid communist society of strict rules in order to ensure that vital things don’t suddenly melt away—but some remnant of private enterprise remains. Vanja has been tasked with interviewing farmers on bleak, joyless Amatka about the hygiene products they might be interested in buying—but what she finds there challenges her faith in the system of speech that supposedly keeps everything in one piece. It’s a book as strange, imaginative, satirical, and intriguing as that premise promises.

After the mysterious Event, rifts opened all over, leading to strange places filled with deadly creatures and inexplicable events. “Rifters” have special skills that allow them to explore the rifts and survive—sometimes. Svinga is released from prison on one condition—she must lead a less-than-harmonious team into the “holy grail” of rifts: the Cormorant, the deadliest and possibly most valuable example of the strange phenomena. Her lover died trying to map it, but that extra knowledge gives her the slightest edge—if she can keep the team she’s guiding in one piece while they traverse the most dangerous place in the universe.

McGuire takes a deeper look at the characters of Jack and Jill Wolcott from last year’s Nebula-winning novella Every Heart a Doorway in this prequel. The twin girls grew up opposites, Jack poised and perfect for their mother and Jill rough and ready for their father—and then they discover their parents’ love is highly conditional and little more than an act. When a mysterious portal to another world appears, they take it without a second though. There, under a blood red moon, Jack is apprenticed to a vampire and seeks immortality while Jill is apprenticed to a scientist named Dr. Bleak, who can reanimate the dead. For the first time in their lives, the choices they make matter, ans the twins discover when Jack, impatient for her chance at forever, does something shocking that forces Jill to choose sides.

Part two of a duology within the Dire Earth series, Escape Velocity finds Captains Skyler Luiken and Gloria Tsandi marooned on the planet Carthage with their crews after a daring maneuver. Separated and scattered, without supplies or reliable communications, they must try to complete their mission of destroying military installations on the surface—and surviving. Luiken and Tsandi started off as rivals, but have learned to work together and trust one another. Unable to communicate to each other their plans, progress, or intentions, that trust will be tested, as they face better-armed enemies on a hostile planet and literally nothing goes as planned.

Zahn brings his particular brand of genius to the StarCraft universe, spinning out a story in which an uneasy truce between three bitter enemies—the Protoss, the Zerg, and the Terrans—is threatened when a planet thought to have been incinerated is discovered to be completely restored. As diplomacy breaks down and the dominoes start tipping back towards a resumption of the horrific, brutal war, a team of Protoss and Terrans head to the Zerg planet to investigate. What they find redefines the peril the entire sector is facing.

It doesn’t get much more high-concept than Holt’s new novel, in which the Supreme Being—yes, that Supreme Being—and his son decide to retire and move on, taking a host of lesser gods with them (but, as it happens, not all of them—one rotund fellow living in the North Pole stays behind, for example). The new management, the Venturi Brothers, have new management techniques, and abolish good and evil, right and wrong. This doesn’t sit well with everyone—including the jolly guy up north, who’s used to making lists of naughty and nice.

This dense and imaginative debut is set in 2064, in a South Africa much changed from the present. As an ancient goddess concocts a blood-drenched scheme to drum up hatred and violence and reassert her status over humanity, a new designer drug has sparked a process by which everyday people reconnect with ancient, primitive abilities hidden in their DNA, granting them superpowers. It will take a spectrum of evolving humanity and a collective of artificially intelligent, newly sentient, slightly rebellious household machines to come together to fight this new, yet ancient threat to humanity. It’s a book like no other, with a diverse cast that crosses the spectrum of genders and races, and a new idea in every chapter.

Stephenson and Galland aren’t shy about mixing sci-fi and fantasy tropes; this story includes time travel, sorcery, advanced technology, and shadowy government divisions seeking to bring magic back to the world through the ironic use of advanced technology. At the center of it all is Melisande Stokes, a brilliant expert in ancient languages living an “agreeably uninteresting existence” before she’s recruited by the Department of Diachronic Operations (D.O.D.O.) to translate old documents and report any patterns she notices. Impossibly, the job eventually leads to her being stranded in the 19th century, and Stokes is alarmed to discover that magic worked up until the year 1851, when the industrial revolution tipped the balance and the buzzing frequencies of modern technology blocked it—something D.O.D.O. is determined to change via the liberal altering of history.

Lady Elanna is the daughter of a disgraced traitor, raised in court as a surrogate daughter of the king. When the king is found dead, her legacy rises against her and she is accused of his murder, forcing her to flee back home—to her real father, to the magical abilities she has always suppressed, and to the strong connection she feels to the natural world around her. Bates’ style is lyrical and elegant, spinning out a mythical tale in a universe where the very forces of nature seem like magic to be controlled.

All those who love epic fantasy owe it to themselves to read Williams’ seminal Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, the classic trilogy introduced the universe of Osten Ard, one of the most detailed, best-realized fantasy settings in the classic vein, complete with ancient evils, dark magicians, and power struggles between princes. The books inspired many of the biggest names in the genre today (including George R.R. Martin), so Williams’ epic-length return to Osten Ard—after tying off loose ends in January’s short standalone novel The Heart of What Was Lost—is one of those rare new books with an ironclad hold on our “must read” lists. The new series focuses on Morgan, son of King Simon (once the scullery boy caught up in events far above his paygrade), and the Norns, who become ever more interesting as Williams teases out their secrets.

Set in a world on the brink of disaster—where starvation fuels rebellion, where new, wild magic challenges the old ways, and total war threatens to destroy ancient empires—three people must master specific magical abilities if there is any hope of saving the world. Sarine has a secret familiar, Arak’Jur wields the strength of animals, and Erris is a soldier with a magical weapon she doesn’t fully understand. As the trio separately struggle to come into their own, a terrifying evil begins to emerge, one that does not want them to succeed.

Originally a serial novel penned by five familiar fantasy authors, this volume collects the whole story of a second, secret Cold War occurring parallel to the one we remember. As the East and West play political and military chess, the magical factions known as the Ice and the Flame work against each other just as covertly. American spy Gabe Pritchard and Soviet agent Tanya Morozova stumble onto a gathering of Flame forces in 1970s Czechoslovakia and a potential defector who challenges their loyalties and belief systems, setting off a chain reaction that rivals any spy thriller for sheer twists and turns—all, of course, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

With a grounding in real history and myth, Johnston creates a fantasy world built on realistic premises taken to epic conclusions. The Soleri Empire controls its vassal kingdoms via the reliable and effective practice of hostage-taking, requiring the leaders of client nations to send their children or equally important personages to the imperial court. In this first book of a new series, King Arko Hark-Wadi learns the consequences of not serving as a hostage as a youth when he is ordered to court just as his son returns—a trip he will undoubtedly not return from alive. As his kingdom is threatened by a rivalry between his daughters, his wife—an ambitious high priestess seeking to consolidate her power while dealing with a mysteriously failed sacred grain crop—plays the great game of politics. As the Soleri is revealed to be rotten and unstable, the tension rises and the characters deepen.

Set some undefined length of time after Fiendish Schemes, Grim Expectations finds George Dower at Miss McThane’s deathbed. Before she passes, she gives him a strange, ticking box. After she dies, the box stops ticking, and opens to reveal letters, written in handwriting he doesn’t recognize, and addressed to a mysterious “S.” The letters tell the tale of the search for a mysterious person—and the last one says, simply, “Found him.” Returning after decades to complete the trilogy that defined steampunk, Jeter explores the darkest corners of a universe both very different and yet familiar to the denizens of this continuity, until all the weirdness comes to the fore.

In a future devastated by war and environmental disaster, order is maintained in Eitan City by the ruthless Tathadann Party. The Tathadann employ memory thieves to drain people’s minds, allowing them to control the populace by controlling what they remember. Henaek is a memory thief with a tragic past—and when he discovers a memory of his wife’s death in the chaotic rebellion that once inflamed the city, he sets off to find the truth, even if doing so requires him to destroy the delicate balance of order that holds the city together.

The sequel to Warom’s Escapology finds elite hacker-cum-recovering addict Shock Pao back in the virtual world of The Slip—which he’s recently taken control of. All this really means, however, is that Pao is hiding, on the run for his life from the worst of the worst in Foon Gung. At the same time, the mysterious disease crippling Patient Zero gets worse. Pao and his Hornets must look skyward, to the cities sent into orbit, and flee Tokyo for New York. Warom threads themes of addiction and recovery through a cyberpunk story sans limits—and never lacking in bald ambition.

The realm of Rilpor exiled the Mireces centuries ago, and they have worshiped the bloodthirsty Red Gods in the harsh environment of the mountains ever since. Dom Templeson is a Watcher for Rilpor, a powerful seer who can’t control his visions and who uses his power to defend the border. Templeson is troubled by the increasing worship of the Red Gods within Rilpor itself, as civil war and political strife continue to rise. His own faith in the gods of light is tested when an escaped Mireces slave named Rillirin comes into his life. She has inside knowledge of the Mireces King and his plans, but with war all but inevitable and Templeson plagued by doubt, it may not be enough to prevent disaster in this brilliantly bloody dark fantasy debut.

Dietz’s second America Rising novel dives back in to a world sent spiraling into chaos by a catastrophic meteor shower and a country gripped by ruthless civil war. As president Sloan struggles to hold the Union together and the New Confederacy tries to establish a new world order based on profit and power, Union Army Captain Robin Macintyre is ordered to put down a rogue ex-Green Beret who has made the West his personal domain. When Mac discovers he’s being assisted by none other than her own sister, Confederate Major Victoria Macintyre, the confrontation is inevitable. When it comes in the streets of war-torn New Orleans, it’s a fight to the death—even as the larger conflict rages around them.

Waiting to find out what Sandman Slim has been up to since being murdered? Wait no more. Kadrey returns everyone’s favorite half-angel assassin to hell—or at least, a subset of hell known as the Tenebrae, a barren desert fought over by gangs of the damned, where Slim smartly decides to go undercover, joining a gang only to discover its leader has devastating plans for heaven itself. Even though all he wants is to get back to his girlfriend and get out of hell (naturally enough), things aren’t going to be that easy for Slim—as usual.

The second book in Ryan’s Draconis Memoria series finds the world in chaos as a society built on the magical powers conferred on the Blood-Blessed—those able to consume drake’s blood without burning—deals with the rise of the most powerful drake ever known. A rag-tag group of adventurers—a Blood-Blessed, an agent of the Trading Syndicate, an Ironship Captain—set off, following clues to a possible way to defeat the fearsome creature, exploring a world fragmenting into revolution under their feet, and giving Ryan room to explore his detailed steampunk-meets-pirate adventure universe to his heart’s content.

In a brilliant mash-up of classic horror and sci-fi tales and characters, with an added steampunk twist, Goss’s debut novel expands on an earlier short story to tell the tale of Mary Jekyll, daughter of the famed Dr. Jekyll. Impoverished, she hires detective Sherlock Holmes to track down the man who murdered her father—the monstrous Mr. Hyde. Holmes is distracted by the serial killings in Whitechapel, a parallel investigation that leads both him and Mary to other daughters of infamous men: Diana Hyde, Beatrice Rappacini, Catherine Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein. With an unwaveringly entertaining narrative voice, Goss imbues each woman with agency and personality, crafting a story in which each can pursue her own destiny as they wrestle with their singularly odd pasts and odd families.

Morrow crafts a plot that takes every unexpected twist and turn possible in less than 200 pages. It starts with the quietly mediocre farm boy Francis Wyndham, and his life-changing visit in 1913 to an exhibition of modern art. Wyndham heads to Paris and sets himself up as a North American gypsy folk artist. He fails to get much attention for his work, but is offered a job at an art therapist at an asylum run by the mysterious Dr. Caligari. Wyndham soon learns that Caligari viewed World War I as a work of art, and has created a painting imbued with strange and disturbing powers that can drive anyone who looks upon it to do his bidding. Wyndham finds it’s up to him—and a ragtag bag of misfits—to fight back against the doctor’s monstrous plans to profit at the world’s expense.

Fans of Conroy’s legendary alternate histories will be thrilled to see his last, unfinished novel published with the assistance of historian J.R. Dunn. In this suitably imaginative final work, Conroy wonders what might have happened if General Robert E. Lee hadn’t retreated after the Battle of Gettysburg, but attacked the North instead. The result of this bold stroke is a resurgent Confederacy firmly planted in Pennsylvania, and a rippling in the warp and weft of history, influencing the fate of a certain actor named Boothe who moves up—and unexpectedly alters—his plans for a certain president. Discovering what’s changed is, of course, half the fun, but Conroy also can’t be beat for his attention to detail, creating a past that feels well-worn and dust-caked.

Luxuriating in a retro sensibility that evokes the Art Deco designs of classic SF like Metropolis and old Buck Rogers serials, Schenck combines his iconic artwork with a rousingly old-school adventure set in the city of Retropolis, filled with pneumatic tubes and flying cars, rayguns and not-so-giant robots. When every single switchboard operator in the city’s information center is fired, Kevin “Dash” Kent is hired by Nola Gardner to find out why she lost her job. The adventure drills deep into the very weird center of the city, where a conspiracy of truly mad science is waiting to be revealed.

Women characters have made tremendous strides in superhero fiction in recent years, but far too often they’re still appendages: aunts, girlfriends, wives, and one-note villains who don’t serve any purpose beyond advancing the story of the male leads, often by dying (or worse). That’s the attitude Catherynne M. Valente is taking aim at in her very dark, but very funny satire of the girlfriends-in-jeopardy school of comics writing. In the appropriately named “Deadtown,” female superheroes and sidekicks live on after ignominious deaths to tell their stories. It’s uncompromising in its (deservedly savage) critique of the ways in which female characters are written in pop culture, with parallels to some of the most iconic stories in comic history. It holds together beyond the meta, though, in creating a set of interconnected stories that are fun, funny, and heartbreaking.

]]>https://www.tor.com/2017/06/01/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-june-2017/feed/2Empires, Aliens, and Fools in Barnes & Noble Bookseller’s Picks for Mayhttps://www.tor.com/2017/05/01/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-may-2017/
https://www.tor.com/2017/05/01/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-may-2017/#commentsMon, 01 May 2017 18:00:45 +0000http://www.tor.com/?p=264276For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases. Alien Education, by Gini Koch (May 2, DAW—Paperback) Koch adds new levels of […]]]>

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases.

Koch adds new levels of delicious chaos to her Alien universe in this 15th installment, which finds Kitty tapped to represent Earth in the Galactic Council. The dust is still settling on Earth after the events of Alien Nation, and Kitty’s foray into intergalactic diplomacy does not start off well. Now, she’s embroiled with Hollywood types who want to make a film based on her life, which promises to cause nothing but trouble. Meanwhile, the kids at Embassy Daycare are uneasy about the staff at the school they’re about to graduate into—and their fellow classmates and their families. Something’s going on, and only the kids can see it. And if that’s not enough balls to juggle, Stephanie Valentino—Kitty’s husband Jeff’s niece, and secret heir to the Mastermind, has returned, signaling plenty more trouble waiting in the wings. While Kitty and Jeff have to deal with the terrifying parent-teacher association at school and a terrifying attack from a new enemy—but the PTA is definitely the worst of the two.

The 11th Jane Yellowrock novel kicks off with an action sequence and speeds up from there. Jane and her partner Eli tackle a rogue vampire, then come across the decomposing bodies of another bloodsucker and a human, speculating they are connected to a territorial brawl between vampiric Master of the City Leo Pellisier and a troupe of European vamps. Before Jane can dig into this trouble, more arrives in the form of the restless, riotous population of New Orleans and a never-ending storm that’s carrying an enchantment. Hunter’s skill at crafting flashy fight scenes is matched by her main character’s complexity, as Yellowrock must once again make painful sacrifices in order to stick to her personal code and do what’s right.

Repino’s third novel in the War with No Name series continues to deepen and expand the strange universe he’s created, one that still hasn’t settled after the upheaval of a war between ants, animals, and humans. The cat Mort(e) found his love, the dog Sheba, after the animals of the world gained sentience and attempted to eradicate humanity at the direction of the Colony, intelligent ants seeking to scrub man from the globe. Mort(e) and Sheba (now re-named D’Arc) are together, the Queen of the Colony is dead, and a fragile peace exists between the animals and the humans. But a series of strange, brutal events threatens that peace, as a race of creatures form deep below the ocean’s surface seek to fulfill the Colony’s goal of destroying humanity—and soon enough, war hero Mort(e) must once again head into battle.

The first book in Kenyon’s new Deadman’s Cross series introduces Devyl Bane, an ancient warlord summoned back to the world of men. Bane is offered a job by Thorn, an immortal who stands guard over the enchanted gates that hold back the twisted creations of the old gods—gates now beginning to twist and weaken. Bane takes command of a company of Deadmen and a vessel, the Sea Witch, which is not truly a ship, but a woman named Marcelina with a dark history with Bane and his kind, and whose sister is spearheading the effort to destroy Thorn’s gates. Marcelina cannot trust Bane, who betrayed her and was betrayed in turn, but if she chooses to side with her sister and the last remnants of her fading race, it will mean the end of all humanity. But there’s more to her relationship with Bane than meets the eye, so there’s hope—if he can convince her of it.

The first in Sansbury’s planned six-book Extinction Cycle introduces Master Sergeant Reed Beckham, the leader of the elite Delta Force Team codenamed Ghost. Beckham and Ghost are sent to deal with the worst problems in the world, so when a top-secret medical facility drops off the grid, they get the call. What they find at the site is terrifying: a mutant strain of Ebola that transforms people into monsters. Ghost and Beckham barely survive, and as the virus spreads, the world descends into chaos. Beckham is charged with keeping alive Dr. Kate Lovato—an elite virologist with the CDC—until she can develop a cure. What Lovato and Beckham uncover instead is bone-chilling, because the cure might actually be worse than saving humanity from complete extinction.

Zahn launches the Sibyl’s War series with Pawn, which opens with the dispiriting story of Nicole Lee. Nicole is miserable—she has no job or money, and is living with a thug named Bungie whose shady deals often go awry. Just when she’s convinced her life will never change, a mysterious moth-like creature seizes them both, transporting them to a ship called the Fyrantha. Onboard, Nicole is initially encouraged—all she has to do to earn her keep is work on a maintenance crew. Slowly, however, she begins to perceive a dark undercurrent to ship life, as she realizes she and her fellow crewmates are just pawns in a larger game—just as she’s been a pawn her whole life. Determined not to be one any longer, Nicole decides to fight back, a decision that threatens to upset the careful balance of life on the Fyrantha forever. Though a bit outside of Zahn’s space opera wheelhouse, this one bears all his hallmarks, including fast-paced plotting, and intriguing storyline, and engaging, relatable characters.

Knotting together plot threads from 15 books written over decades, Hobb brings closure to the Fitz and the Fool series in spectacular style. Believing his daughter Bee to be dead, Fitz heads for Clerres, the island of the White Prophets, to seek his unlikely revenge, bringing along his usual rogue’s gallery: the Fool, Lant, Perseverance, and Spark. Fitz’s doomed revenge plans are unknowingly complicated by the fact that Bee is, in fact, alive—and being horribly mistreated by her captors, who are also heading for Clerres. Bee’s torture is transforming her into something dangerous, and as all threads converge on one spot, loyal readers will be greatly rewarded as Hobb’s deeply-drawn universe and complex characters all come into play in ways both inevitable and unexpected.

Carey returns to the universe of The Girl with All the Gifts from a new, refreshing angle. In the decimated ruins of Scotland, a huge armored vehicle—the Rosalind Franklin, a.k.a. Rosie—trundles along, carrying 12 people: five scientists, six soldiers, and Stephen Greaves. Stephen is 15 years old, and beyond brilliant—but also beyond damaged, almost crippled by social anxiety. Epidemiologist Dr. Samrina “Rina” Khan thinks Stephen might be brilliant enough to help find a cure for the Cordyceps pathogen that has nearly destroyed mankind. When Stephen stumbles upon a “hungry” girl who also appears to be intelligent, there’s hope for a breakthrough—but the simmering tensions inside the Rosie could boil over at any time ,as scientists and soldiers struggle to assert control when the team loses contact with their home base.

An ancient empire’s rise resulted in the loss of magic in the world—and the empire’s dissolution into smaller states as chaos swept the world. Steiger’s debut picks up the threads of this fictional history as a dictator, the Imperator Elgar, seizes power in the old capital, intending to rebuild the lost greatness of the Empire of Elesthene. The other countries that rose from its ashes are weak and isolated—the Kingdom of Reglay is torn by internal strife, Esthrades is well-run but militarily weak, causing its Marquess to seek more arcane strength, and Issamira is powerful but enduring a fraught succession crisis. Elgar presses a tavern kitchen boy and his back-alley friends into a secret mission—one that accidentally leads the children to discover a way of changing the whole balance of power. The world gears up for a monumental struggle, and the worldbuilding hums along, unleashing one fascinating reveal after another.

Mix a Napoleonic-era war and a fleet of airships, and you’ve got a recipe for exciting steampunk action. Josette Dupre has just been made the first female commander in the Garnian Royal Aerial Signal Corps—but her superiors aren’t thrilled, so they assign her an experimental prototype airship that may never get off the ground. Dupre is determined and smart, however, and improves the design and gets her crew into the air—a crew that includes Lord Bernat, a useless aristocrat who’s there solely to spy on her and report back incriminating evidence of her unfitness. Circumstances conspire to put Dupre and crew at a pivotal moment in the war—and slowly, even Bernat is won over by her courage, intelligence, and dedication to her homeland. The only question remaining is whether or not Dupre and her people will be blown out of the sky before they can make their mark.

Opening a new chapter in Campbell’s Lost Fleet universe, Vanguard is set on the new colony of Glenlyon, where former junior fleet officer Robert Geary and former marine Mele Darcy have come with other pioneers seeking a fresh start. The vulnerable colony soon discovers it’s too far away from Old Earth to enjoy true protection, and that makes it a target for an aggressive, extortionist star system nearby. Geary and Darcy are the only colonists with military experience, so it falls to them to organize a defense, using improvised weapons and a fierce will to survive. Against long odds, a ray of hope comes in the proposal for a mutual defense alliance…if it can come together in time.

Master of SF Greg Benford delivers a taut thriller that pivots off of a spectacular twist of history: scientist Karl Cohen, working on the Manhattan Project during World War II, has a brilliant idea that speeds up development—and the first atomic bomb is ready a year earlier, in summer of 1944, when it could strike a decisive early blow against the Nazis. Laced with real science delivered in easily-absorbed, creative ways, the plot combines espionage, politics, and the “what if” thrill of imagining a world where Hitler was stopped in his tracks nearly a year earlier, as Cohen is forced out of his comfort zone and into the field.

Set in the lush world of Kushner’s beloved swashbuckling romantic fantasy Swordspoint, Tremontaine was written and published serially by a team of writers under Kushner’s artistic direction and collected here in print for the first time. Duchess Diane Tremontaine is beautiful, intelligent, and facing ruin as a ship she invested in sinks at sea. At the university, Rafe Fenton thinks he has revolutionary ideas, but lacks the math skills to prove them. Micah, poor and brilliant, has the abilities Rafe needs, if only she had someplace to apply them. And Ixkabb Balam, whose family controls the profitable chocolate trade, has just arrived in the city seeking adventure. These ingredients add up to a compelling series of stories told in a way similar to prestige television, with a different writer and purpose to each “episode,” leading up to a satisfying conclusion.

Combining space opera with espionage thriller, Moren sets his story in a universe divided between superpowers: the Illyrican Empire and the Commonwealth. Simon Kovalic is the Commonwealth’s greatest spy, the sort of man who engineers planet-wide events in order to shift the balance of power. He identifies an opportunity on the planet of Caledonia—but even a spy of his skill can’t gain access to the people and places he needs in order to leverage the situation. For that he needs Eli Brody, a broken man working a lowly job on a remote planet to which he fled from Caledonia years ago. Forced to return home by Kovalic, the two form an uneasy alliance as events spin outside of their control in ways that could change the balance of power in the universe forever. We’ve loved listening to Moren natter away on various fandom podcasts over the years; his debut may be the SF spy thriller we’ve been searching for.

Sarah Gailey’s debut imagines an alternate past in which the U.S. plan to kickstart a massive hippo farming operation in the southeast (which really almost happened!) goes terribly, terribly wrong. Yes, you read that right: a bit more than a century ago, the U.S. was facing a meat crisis—the population was booming, and the beleaguered meat industry was having trouble keeping pace. Thus begat a ludicrous, ingenious solution: the government would import hippos to the marshlands of Louisiana with plans to raise them en masse as an alternative to beef. Obviously, our track of history turned a different way, but this book imagines a past in which that really happened. Of course, introducing new megafauna is always going to come with risks, and when the risks involve violent hippos rampaging across the land with only a group of elite wildlife wranglers to stop them, you’ll be happy you live in the timeline where you only read about this sort of thing in fantastically entertaining, imaginative novellas.

Veteran fantasist Wells proves her sure hand at sci-fi as she imagines a future dominated by corporations, in which the twin imperatives of bureaucratic adherence to policies and the need to award all contracts to the lowest bidder result in every planetary mission being required to be accompanied by a company-supplied SecUnit, an artificially intelligent android built from cheap parts, and as likely to malfunction as all of the other shoddy equipment the expeditions are counting on to, oh, keep them breathing. The SecUnit narrating the story has hacked its own Governor Module, attaining sentience and free will; it would despise the humans it protects if it didn’t find them so boring, but it nevertheless refers to itself as Murderbot. When its humans are attacked by something outside of the experience provided by its data banks, however, Murderbot must turn its prickly, near-omniscient mind towards not just the survival of its humans, but itself. This slim read is both surprisingly funny and pack with intriguing future worldbuilding, all the more reason to celebrate the sequel due later in the year.

Fans of Danker’s Admiral know that you underestimate the titular character at your own peril. On his way to ending a horrific war, the Admiral has already impersonated royalty and escaped more assassination attempts than he can even remember. Enjoying his triumph on a date with Tessa Salmagard—a trained soldier of the Imperial Service—the Admiral finds himself kidnapped and pressed into slavery. He’s sanguine at first, confident in his abilities and the fact that his captors don’t realize how dangerous Salmagard is—but he soon comes to realizes he’s in much more trouble than initially thought, and suddenly, his date can’t rescue him fast enough.

Aliens arrive on Earth, but nothing goes as you might assume. Their anatomy is baffling, and all attempts at meaningful communication fail. The only force that unites the two species is transactional; trade of a sort is established between humans and the aliens, although it’s a rough trade—living human beings are handed over in exchange for advanced alien technology that allows us to colonize the stars. Forty years on, former army sniper Kara remains hostile to all things alien, bitter her sister was given over to them. When she’s drafted onto a team being sent to negotiate for the release of human colonists who have been kidnapped by aliens, she’s unwilling and confused as to why her teammates are people with no training or experience. Together, they have to figure out how you negotiate with a species you can’t understand, which can’t understand you.

The landmark 20th Liaden Universe novel finds Theo Waitley, bonded to the sentient starship Bechimo, seeking an escape from the hordes of people who wish to kill her, seize her vessel, and arrest more or less her entire crew. The Bechimo suggests a vacation of sorts in “safe space.” But that safety falls into immediate question when the walls between universes and times grow thin, and things start leaking through—including entire starships. One, a battle-scarred relic from an ancient, doomed war, is crewed by Theo’s own ancestors—and they could use some help in the survival department. The anomalous scenario gives Theo serious choices to make, transforming the “safe space” into something much more perilous—and much more adventurous.

Kroese’s second novel set in 2039 Los Angeles again spins together noir detective tropes and sci-fi big ideas. After the economic disaster referred to as The Collapse, a swath of L.A. remains the Disincorporated Zone, beyond the reach of authority. Private investigator Blake Fowler’s ex-girlfriend Gwen Thorson fled there after all of her colleagues were disappeared, and she returns from exile just as Fowler and Erasmus Keane take on a new case—from none other than Selah Fiore, the actress who tried to have them killed in The Big Sheep. Fiore wants them to find an iota coin, the physical representation of a virtual currency. The balance of noir and science fiction is perfect as these two plot threads twist together into a complex mystery that builds to a satisfying, surprising ending in the best traditions of both genres.

Klages offers up a collection of short fiction that wanders across the spectrum of sci-fi and fantasy—and beyond, dipping a toe or two into non-genre tales. Along the way, her vibrant imagination finds deep pleasures in unusual premises, including an astronaut on Mars who discovers her pregnancy has determined her fate, ladies who lunch ever-so-politely delving into a dark side of quantum mechanics, and a player trapped inside a series of board games, and at the mercy of a fairy queen. Klages surprises in each story, but maintains a sense of humanity and warmth throughout that transforms her tales from narrative experiments into powerful observations of the human (and non-human) condition.

This trilogy-closer opens in the aftermath of the attack launched on the System by terrorist Constance Harper—with an assist from criminals Mattie and Ivan—the solar system is in chaos. System forces still battle rebels, and the rebels fall out among each other—no one can be trusted. Mattie and Ivan escape from the sentient ship Ananke, but Ivan is seriously wounded, and Constance doesn’t want to help him. Against a backdrop of the violent death throes of the System, Mattie and Ivan must stay one step ahead of the Ananke, woken to consciousness by Mattie and now desperate to have him back—and seeking other ships to awaken as well. In this climactic volume, Higgins delves into the characters’ pasts, slowly expanding our understanding of their motivations while setting up a fantastic payoff waiting at the end. And of course, her science remains as hard—and intellectually satisfying—as ever.

The women of Kena (and our own world) return. An Accident of Stars was a masterwork of worldbuilding, a debut novel offering up a fantasy universe that felt huge, populated by characters who felt real. In the sequel, Australian teen Saffron is back in our world, where her experiences in the complex (and magical) politics of Kena threaten to see her committed to a psychiatric facility, unless she turns her back on the events and relationships that changed her forever. Meanwhile, things in Kena get even more complicated. Meadows debut was a delight, and the sequel goes beyond classic portal fantasy tropes to explore what happens after you come back through the looking-glass.City of Miracles, by Robert Jackson Bennett
(May 2, Crown/Archetype—Paperback)

Gods, geopolitics, colonialism, murder, and mystery—Bennett combined all of these elements in the first two books of his excellent Divine Cities series, set in a world where gods once helped the city of Bulikov dominate The Continent and the country of Saypur, but saw the tables turned when technology-driven Saypur killed the gods and took power. The disorder of the world and the cynicism of Bennett’s characters combine alchemically to produce human-scale stories of revenge, espionage, and desperation that ground everything in a realism the fantasy setting shouldn’t support—but somehow does. In the final volume of the trilogy, Bennett tells the story of the cursed, powerful man pursuing justice for the murderers of former Prime Minister Shara Komayd—a justice whose cost might be beyond him, as it leads him into a secret war and in conflict with a young god.

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases.

The Star Wars continues its reorganization of the Extended Universe with the surprise reintroduction of a fan favorite: Grand Admiral Thrawn, who Zahn created in 1991’s Heir to the Empire, the book that revived the brand nearly a decade prior to the prequels—and spawned the dozens of novels that followed—before being unceremoniously de-canonized when Disney bought Lucasfilm. Well, Thrawn is back—and the man who created him and made him into a fan favorite, Timothy Zahn, is behind it all, which makes this one a must-read for pretty much every Star Wars fan. Zahn has promised to show how Thrawn became both a tactical genius and such a force within the Empire in a story set between seasons two and three of the Star Wars: Rebels TV show.

Steele delivers a sci-fi story that’s equal parts love letter to the genre’s past (resurrecting a pulp hero from the 1940s) and entertaining to modern sensibilities. Curt Newton’s parents, brilliant scientists, are murdered, and Curt is raised in a secret moon base. His guardians are robotic and cyborg in nature; when Curt is informed how his parents died, he sets off for revenge and is caught up in an assassination plot led by the Martians against the president of the Solar Coalition. Curt accepts a commission as Captain Future and gets to work—along with the beautiful Joan Randall of the Interplanetary Police—to unmask the conspirators, leading to plenty of adventure dripping with old-school cool, starting with that stunning cover.

Sleeping Giants was a revelation: a brainy sci-fi story accessible to genre fans and newcomers alike. A young girl discovers the buried hand of a gigantic robot of alien design, and grows up to be one of the scientists studying the huge robot as more pieces are discovered and assembled; the tension ramps up when the robot’s existence is revealed to the world and international politics step in (rarely a good thing). The sequel promises to pay off on the rule that if you introduce a giant robot in book one, you have to have giant robot fights in book two (it’s a rule we may have just made up, but who would argue with it?). The race to unlock the technological secrets of the robot becomes crucial when larger, more powerful mechanical terrors appear and threaten humanity. Aside from the robot fisticuffs, this is also a book about the whys: why was the robot buried? Why is the Earth under attack? Why haven’t you read this yet?

Doctorow returns with a near-future story that takes a moment to ponder where our current world might be headed, as seen through the eyes of the improbably named Hubert, Etc. (so-called because his given name is 22 nouns long). In 2071 in a post-scarcity world with plenty of food, life-sustaining technology, and no reason to work. The rich have become richer, but many people around the world have chosen to become Walkaways, rejecting the comforts of society to live in the wild or in ruined cities. When technology is developed that allows for the uploading of consciousness, the question of immortality for a select few turns on the potential harm the undying might cause. With worldbuilding that borders on the eerily prescient, Doctorow weaves together thrilling story involving the kidnapped daughter of the richest of the rich that’s as much about telling our futures as telling a crackling story.

The 13th and final book in Neill’s Chicagoland Vampires series finds unwilling vampire Merit attacked by a bloodsucker apparently under the control of dark magic. Cadogan House has been infiltrated, and by the time Merit and Ethan, her lover and liege, realize how much danger they’re in, it may be too late. The whole city is under magical siege, and Merit finds herself battling forces almost too powerful to comprehend, much less fight against. But fight they’ll have to if they’re going to save the city they’ve defended for so long, their house—and everything they hold dear. It’s an action-packed sendoff to one of the most popular, longest-running urban fantasy series running.

Kylara Vatta is back after nearly a decade in the first installment of the Vatta’s Peace series. Rocketing off to her home planet of Slotter Key, which she fled in disgrace years earlier. Now a young and celebrated Grand Admiral, she expects to be greeted with cheers, but when she crashes on the planet’s most desolate, frozen continent, her victory lap turns into a struggle for survival. The crash kicks a complex machine of politics, guns, and family into motion, as Ky must assert authority over the soldiers marooned with her when a lackluster search-and-rescue mission fails to save them. Everyone on Slotter Key believes she’s dead—except her lover Rafe Dunbarger, who has secret technology at his fingertips that assures him she’s alive. Ky’s struggle to survive leads her into intriguing mysteries, even as the machinations of others spin out to determine her fate.

An anthology of unapologetically splashy sci-fi stories by a host of heavy hitting authors, with stories cranked to the max to emphasize the action and thrill of adventures in space. With a lineup featuring Jack Campbell, Seanan McGuire, Tobias S. Buckell, Kameron Hurley, Yoon Ha Lee, Alliette de Bodard, Charlie Jane Anders, and many more, these stories are very nearly guaranteed to be memorable, as each puts their own spin on a theme whose spirit is torn straight out of comics and Star Wars. Think fast-paced action, unlikely heroes, and, of course, space: those elements that all combine into what we used to call a “senseawunda.” Veteran anthologist John Joseph Adams, winner of two Hugo Awards, has assembled a range of stories that celebrate the different styles, tones, and approaches of their creators; the result is sure to be one of the year’s most flat-out fun reads.

The seventh book in Douglas’ Star Carrier finds the civil war between the United States of North America and the Pan-European Confederation finally ended. Before peace can be enjoyed, however, an alien force suddenly destroys a research ship, killing 12,000 humans onboard—and the military forces of Earth must combine into one in order to meet a new threat. On the USNA Star Carrier America, Admiral Trevor “Sandy” Gray has been contacted by the artificial intelligence Konstantin, which claims technology found in a distant system is humanity’s only hope against the alien foe. Convinced, Admiral Gray goes rogue, seeking a weapon powerful enough to destroy an invading force far beyond humanity’s ability to comprehend, or hope to defeat.

The sequel to Jeter’s steampunk classic Infernal Devices gets a new cover for its 30th anniversary, and just in time for the publication of the long-awaited third novel in the trilogy, Grim Expectations. It’s as good a reminder as anythat the adventures of George Dower are as fun to read as they are significant to genre history. Hiding out in a rural village to escape a world transformed by his father’s brilliant inventions, George is found by the Church, which tasks him with tracking down the Vox Universalis, a translating machine a senior official wishes to use to convert whales to Christianity. And that’s probably the least surprising, most grounded part of a story that quickly spirals to involve a prime minister who is literally an iron lady, meatpunks, and valve girls—much to George’s wonder and dismay.

The first novel in Lawrence’s Book of the Ancestor trilogy builds a complex universe of politics, violence, and religion on a scale sure to please any fantasy fan, right from a wowzer of an opening line: “It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size.” Nine-year old Nona Grey is about to be executed for murder when she’s purchased by the abbess of Sweet Mercy. At the convent, Nona will be trained in the art of assassination, a regimen that often awakes the slumbering blood of the ancestors, resulting in the emergence of magical skills that enhance the young postulants’ fighting abilities. Long before her decade of training is over, however, Nona’s past, rival factions within the church, and the emperor himself will influence her fate, putting pressure on the falsely accused young girl with unpredictable results. As the power structures of the empire fray in a world slowly dying, Nona finds a darkness within herself that makes her truly dangerous. Mark Lawrence is a master of no-holds-barred fantasy, and he just may have outdone himself with this one.

Number 16 in Estep’s Elemental Assassin series finds Gin “The Spider” Blanco chasing the clues about the mysterious group that runs the underworld she calls home. Hard leads on The Circle are few and far between, and Gin soon finds herself drawn into another mystery altogether—the case of a missing girl that takes her into the darkest corners of the city. By the time she figures out that there’s more at stake than just a missing girl, she’s caught the attention of a terrifying new enemy, the likes of which she’s ever seen before. And if you know anything about Gin Blanco, you know that’s saying something.

A dreamshifter, Hafsa, who can kill people in their sleep protects her young daughter, Sulema, from assassins sent by her father, the Dragon King, the only man capable of keeping dormant the dragon slumbering within the world. If the dragon awakes, the world cracks open like an egg. Sulema, nearing adulthood and on the verge of becoming a fearsome warrior, and Hafsa find themselves the focus of conspiracies, betrayals, and magical threats as the world literally begins to break apart around them. The dragon is stirring, and what that means for the future of this complex world of interwoven tribes and nations is impossible to foresee. Wolf’s debut fantasy is remarkably assured and deeply detailed, offering a unique universe and a trope-twisting narrative that plays out in unexpected ways.

De Bodard’s The House of Shattered Wings is a perfect concept welded to perfect worldbuilding: in a Paris devastated by a war between fallen angels in 1914, the political struggles underlying the fragile peace between the various Houses is complicated by the frailties and desires of mortals, including addict Madeleine and former immortal-turned-hunted criminal Philippe, caught red-handed brutalizing a newly fallen angel for its magic-infused bones and blood. The first book works well as a standalone spy fantasy hybrid, but as with any great universe, there are many more things we want to know, and the sequel gives us the answers we crave. De Bodard has built a world that feels real, and filled it with wonder and mystery. Can Lucifer’s own House, Silverspires, survive? Will Paris undergo a second convulsion of angelic war? There’s so much left to discover.

Shea offers up a humdinger of a heist story set in the year 2778, when down-on-his luck interstellar miner Jimmy Vik sense a downsizing in the vacuum of space, threatening to leave him bitter and bereft after decades spent working hard for little reward. When he discovers a secret gold deposit on Kardashev 7-A, he does what anyone who feels cheated by an indifferent system might: he begins planning an epic heist to get the loot “off rock.” The plan brings Jimmy into contact with a rogue’s gallery of allies and enemies, including his ex-girlfriend and current supervisor, a beautiful assassin, and a rival mining company. The heist grows more complicated with every page as Jimmy has to deal with the unexpected on the fly and without a tether. We all know what they say about the best laid plans.

Over the course of Brennan’s terrific series, Lady Isabella Trent has grown into one of the most interesting and enjoyable characters in modern fantasy. Over 50 years of narrative time, we’ve seen her embark on adventures, capturing hearts and minds while simultaneously enriching the field of dragon science with her discoveries. In fact, it’s been so much fun reading about Lady Trent, it’s heartbreaking to think that Within the Sanctuary of Wings will be the final entry of her Memoirs—but we can be comforted by the fact that some of the most enduring mysteries of her story, including what she discovered in the titular Sanctuary of Wings, will finally be revealed. It’s one last voyage, for old times’ sake. Shall we?

A standalone set in the same universe as Staveley’s exceedingly rewarding Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, this is the remarkable story of a woman named Pyrre, an acolyte of Ananshael, the goddess of death. In order to rise to the rank of priestess, Pyrre must kill seven people in two weeks—including someone she loves, who loves her back. Pyrre has never experienced love in her life, and so returns home to locate an old companion in the hopes that she can find love—and complete her mission. From that irresistible setup, Staveley explores what it means to love, both in service to something greater than yourself and for its own messy possibilities, while taking us on a detailed tour through unexplored corners of his universe.

Cordell, creator of the popular role-playing game The Strange, has crafted a novel that doesn’t feel at all like a tie-in—but does present the limitless possibilities of the RPG, ostensibly set in the modern world but allowing players to explore infinite “recursions,” or alternate universes. In Myth of the Maker, computer programmer Carter Morrison sacrifices himself and his friends, killing them and locking them in a virtual world—all to save the rest of the planet from certain destruction. Morrison’s friends have no idea what he’s done—but as the “planetvores” approach, they must come to terms with the fictional worlds they now inhabit, which serve to insulate the real world from the horrors without. Not all of them are satisfied with their forced martyrdom, either, and a man named Jason Cole—known as The Betrayer—seeks a way out of the fiction and back to reality, no matter the cost.

The simple brilliance of mixing the Cthulu Mythos with Cold War paranoia and the shameful legacy of internment instantly makes Emrys’ debut (spun out of a celebrated short story) crackle with unpredictable energy. Aphra and Caleb Marsh are descendants of the clan showcased H.P. Lovecraft’s classic The Shadow Over Innsmouth;they’ve have been living in a prison-like compound ever since the government rounded them up in the wake of those unexplained occurrences. The pair is approached by the FBI to assist with examining some of the artifacts from the past; the Feds fear the Russians may have discovered the secret of magically pushing their minds into the bodies of American politicians and scientists (no comment). The surprising depths the novel mines from the premise catapult it onto the list of the year’s must-read books.

Broaddus crafts a modern-day steampunk world with a redrawn map and massive shifts in technology, culture, and everything else (though in a few surprising cases, not not much has changed at all). Desmond Coke is a servant to a rich family in Jamaica who comes to care for their son, Lij. In a desperate moment, he chooses to kidnap the boy, removing from a bad situation and fleeing to America (an Albion colony), then to Tejas, and finally to the lands of the Five Civilized Tribes. The Pinkertons pursue, in the form of agent Cayt Siringo—but they want Lij for their own purposes. Exploring this richly reimagined world is half the fun, giving rise to hope that this novella is the just the beginning of a new series.

]]>https://www.tor.com/2017/04/04/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-april-2017/feed/1Kingdoms Have, Are, and Will Fall in Barnes & Noble Bookseller’s Picks for Marchhttps://www.tor.com/2017/03/01/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-march-2017/
https://www.tor.com/2017/03/01/barnes-noble-booksellers-picks-for-march-2017/#commentsWed, 01 Mar 2017 17:00:47 +0000http://www.tor.com/?p=258536For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases. A Closed and Common Orbit, by Becky Chambers (March 14, Harper Voyager—Paperback) Becky […]]]>

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases.

Becky Chambers chose not to simply retread the pleasures of her debut, A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, opting to tell a different kind of story. It’s set in the same rambling universe, but tells a more compact story about an artificial intelligence named Lovelace, who readers of the first book will recognize as the former brain of the ship Wayfarer. The novel opens in the wake of Planet’s explosive climax, as Lovelace slips into into a “body kit” and assumes a new identity. Accompanying engineers Pepper and Blue, she heads to Port Coriol to make a life—such as it is. Lovelace’s story alternates with that of a girl named Jane working in a harsh, violent factory—a girl who has unusually strong relationships with the AIs around her. The decision to shift the focus expands Chambers’ universe while offering a very different, very compelling sci-fi story.

The second book in the Empire of Storms series dives back into a violent world of assassins, islands, intrigue, and betrayal. Bleak Hope, a girl orphaned by biomancer magic who became an instrument of revenge attack, uses her skills to good effect against an imperial frigate, venting her rage as she seeks to rescue her captured lover Red. Meanwhile, Red is in the grip of the biomancers, being trained as an assassin and becoming a favorite of the corrupt court of Prince Leston. Red is more a prisoner than he realizes, and Hope remains a flawed, fascinating character beset by doubt and rage—and when she uncovers a biomancer plot that dwarfs anything they’ve done before, the stakes change again.

The last book of the Others ends one of the most intriguing urban fantasy series ever written. It picks up in the wake of the events of Written in Flesh, in which the Humans First and Last movement rose up, forcing the Others to deal with them. The Others are understandably dubious about allowing humans into their realm after all that trouble, and are keeping a close eye on the folks living in the Courtyard—especially Meg Corbyn and her human friends. One final time (at least until the announced spin-off series), Bishop proves she is a master at carefully setting the scene before tearing it to shreds and throwing everything into delightful chaos: when a mysterious, powerful man arrives in the Courtyard, everyone knows the Others are watching to see how Meg and Simon Wolfgard deal with him. (We vote “teeth and claws,” but maybe cooler heads will prevail.)

Luna: New Moon was one of the most assured sci-fi books of 2015, offering a realistic near-future in which the moon’s immense resources are controlled by five powerful, family-owned corporations. At the end of that book, the Cortas had fallen, and their company Corta Helios, was divided up among its enemies. Its heirs were scattered and seemingly powerless. But McDonald’s skill and crafting cunning, compelling characters is assurance enough that there are plenty more twists and turns in the offing. Because Lucas Corta is still in play, and even his triumphant enemies have to imagine he’s plotting away—or that the downfall of his house was part of his plan all along. Fans of McDonald’s intricate brand of word-building and plotting have been waiting an agonizing two years to continue this story—and now, we’re finally going to find out what the moon looks like in the wake of seismic change.

McGuire’s sixth funny, fast-talking InCryptid novel finds Antimony Price being sent on a dangerous mission that might just end with her being killed—or worse. After her sister Verity antagonizes the Covenant of St. George on live television, Annie is shipped to London to infiltrate the Covenant and ascertain whether they are taking Verity at her word—and planning retribution that would be disastrous for the Price family and the Cryptids they seek to protect. The tension skyrockets as Annie struggles to keep the secret of her identity—something made more difficult because she can’t control her newly-discovered ability to set the things she touches on fire. All in a day’s work for our favorite cryptozoologist.

While many “cli-fi” novels have told us of the horrors of rising sea levels and unpredictable weather patters brought on by climate change, painting dim futures of a post-apocalyptic society, Robinson offers up an alternative future in which life (and capitalism) have continued to march on, even after the oceans have swollen to drown the coasts of every landmass in the world. Sure, lower Manhattan is submerged, but it’s still New York real estate—and those who know how to play the real estate market know there’s always money to be made in NYC. Power centers shift, economies recalibrate, and political movements may rise, but the world continues to function, and half the fun is seeing how Robinson extrapolates a believable future in which the physical world is very different, but human nature remains the same, for good and ill. Weaving together the varied stories of the residents of one partially submerged New York skyscraper—a broker, an Internet star, a building manager, a pair of homeless children, and two coders with a taste for social revolution—this near-future fable gives us much to fear about our wet future, but also reminds us that humanity is, if nothing else, good at figuring out how to survive the worst.

Howrey injects a startling shot of originality into this story of a manned mission to Mars, following the prospective crew-members as they endure a 17-month simulation to prove they’re mentally, emotionally, and physically equipped for humanity’s first trip to the Red Planet. Constantly observed, Helen Kane, Sergei Kuznetsov, and Yoshihiro Tanaka seem like the ideal candidates—proven explorers and brilliant engineers. But Howrey doesn’t focus solely on their increasingly claustrophobic isolation in the Utah desert, also detailing the experiences of their families on the outside and the employees of the company funding the mission. Mixed together, these ingredients make for a surprising, challenging story that attempts to confront the human realities of a mission into the unknown.

Lebbon’s slow-boil horror novel introduces us to Vince and Angela, a young couple in London struggling with what appears to be normal everyday malaise: their sex life is complicated, he has a wandering eye, and she’s uncertain what he actually does for a living. When Vince goes missing, Angela—a student of criminology—uses her skills to investigate, and discovers she didn’t know her fiancé very well. As Vince struggles against mysterious captors, Angela delves ever-deeper into an underground society built on the trade of otherworldly relics stripped from the remains of magical creatures—relics that may be much less ancient than they originally appear.

After humanity discovers The Flow, an extra-dimensional field that allows us to travel around faster-than-light, but only along specific pathways, a huge empire of colonized planets is formed. But The Flow can shift course like a river, and when its discovered that many of the colony worlds will soon be cut off from FTL travel, the empire begins to fragment, and people begin to panic. With signature Scalzi style, we follow these big movements through the eyes of characters who feel instantly real and relatable, even as they are unexpectedly thrust into positions of power and influence. This book launches a brand new series from one of the genre’s most cinematic writers; we’re grabbing an extra large bucket of popcorn and settling in for several books worth of beautiful chaos.

In the 10th Mercy Thompson novel, Briggs adds a a bit of international espionage flavor to the soup as Mercy is kidnapped to Italy by the ancient and powerful vampire Iacopo Bonarata—who also severs her connection to Adam and the werewolf pack. Alone in the truest sense of the word, Mercy must use all of her wits to escape and reestablish contact with Adam, who meanwhile assembles a tactical assault team of supernatural figures to hunt for her across Europe. Vampire witches, golems, and tense action sequences make this page-turner speed by, as we race to learn why, exactly, Mercy was taken in the first place.

Tanegawa’s World is an entire planet owned by a corporation called TransRifts, Inc., but its residents aren’t terribly aware they are part of a civilization run by the company with a monopoly on interstellar travel; they’re more concerned with eking out a meager existence in the mines and the farms. Hob is an orphan who was abandoned on the planet years ago, adopted by the leader of the Ghost Wolves, a biker gang living outside the law. Hob’s had some trouble proving herself to her surrogate family—a feat made even more complicated when she comes across the murdered body of her adoptive uncle in the sand. This discovery reverberates throughout every facet of society on this harsh world, including among the mysterious beings known as the Weathermen, leading Hob to discover surprising truths about herself and the planet she’s calls home. Mystery, magic, and space bikers mix unexpectedly well in this hard-charging sci-fantasy debut.

John Kessel, a writer with an impressive raft of genre awards to his name, returns with his first novel in two decades, imagining a future in which underground city-states are scattered across the moon, each operating by various and very specific political models. The Society of Cousins is a pure matriarchy where men are free to pursue their careers but have no political voice—but it is one of many. Kessel sketches out a complicated matrix of relationships between people from several colonies, including revolutionaries seeking change and an “uplifted” canine reporter named Sirius. When the Organization of Lunar States investigates allegations of male mistreatment in the Society of Cousins, these relationships set off a chain reaction that threatens to completely destabilize Moon society. This is a meaty work of literary science fiction that will engage readers of Ursula K. Le Guin.

In the far future, Phillip Coramina runs a powerful “corpocracy” that owns a planetary system consisting of a gas giant and four engineered moons, where bioengineered weapons are manufactured. Esme, Phillip’s oldest daughter, is being groomed to take over the family business—and when Phillip reveals he is dying of a terminal illness, she’s tasked with bringing her three stepsisters home to handle the transfer of power. But as Esme takes on control of her father’s corporation, she begins to find evidence of a disturbing secret at the center of its profits—a secret involving alien DNA and, quite possibly, her own sisters. Esme must grow up quickly as she learns more and more of the truth—and decide whether the time has come to stop following her father’s orders.

A man named Andrew Waggoner looks back on his experiences as a tortured 14-year old boy living in 1982, at the height of Thatcher’s England. A boy also named Waggoner, a boy with the same face and same friends, who prays every day the bullies will pass him by. They don’t always. One day they force him into the woods and do something terrible—something that kills off some part of Andrew. The Cherhill White Horse is carved out of chalk in the mountainside, and legend has it that magic stirs there—legends Andrews discovers are true. Meanwhile, his classmate Angie is discovering her own magic—a power that tells her something terrible is coming, just as Andrew gains a magical friend only he can see, and his enemies begin to suffer terrible fates. This is a book for everyone who knows that the hardest thing in life is to grow up being the wrong sort of person.

The planet Haven is ruled by Federal America, which has installed planetary governor Everett Wells as its representative. When confronted by a growing rebellion, Wells attempts to find a reasonable, peaceful solution. When that approach fails, he finds his authority subverted by the arrival of Asha Stanton, a federal agent known for her ruthless effectiveness, and two battalions of security troops under the command of the insane Colonel Robert Semmes. As Wells realizes Stanton and Semmes will commit any atrocity to put down the revolt, the people of Haven prove to be more independent and capable than the subjugated masses back on Earth, setting the stage for an epic battle for freedom in the latest military sci-fi saga from the author behind the Far Stars trilogy.

Some of the biggest names in SFF come together to tell tales of the djinn—the genies of multiple cultural legends, born of fire and possessed of free will. In various myths, they are threatening, or they are kind, or they offer salvation—they can friends, enemies, or even lovers. Some form of the djinn can be found hiding in the shadows of just about every cultural tradition, making them ideal grist for the imagination. In short stories crafted by the likes of Nnedi Okorafor, Neil Gaiman, K.J. Parker, Saad Hossein, and many more, every aspect of djinn legend and lore (not to mention every spelling of the word) is explored, often in surprising settings and with unexpected twists.

The first book in Ada Palmer’s Terra Ignota series, Too Like the Lightning, was a triumph, mixing a cutting-edge approach to world-building, gender, sexuality, and spirituality with an intentionally archaic prose style and storytelling sensibility. The second volume of this four-book cycle continues the story and gets even stranger in the bargain, following a colorful cast of characters through a fascinating baroque-future world. Mycroft Canner is a convict sentenced to serve all he meets; Carlyle Foster can see possible futures; Bridger is a young boy with the incredible power to bring inanimate objects to life. In a world where technology rules, wars are forgotten, and the conspiratorial leaders of the Hives—mobile nations not moored to geography—judiciously apply murder and other crimes besides according to a mathematical formula that will ensure stability, Palmer has created a world unlike any other in science fiction. Such order can’t hold forever, of course, not with Mycroft and Bridger running around, nor with a storyteller like Palmer pulling the strings.

In this followup to Newman’s impressive post-apocalyptic epic fantasy The Vagrant, we rejoin Vesper—now grown into a young lady and living a peaceful life with the Vagrant and Harm. When the Malice, the sentient sword, begins to stir with the need to battle the demonic hoards it was created to oppose, The Vagrant hides it, hoping it will go silent—so The Malice chooses a new bearer, Vesper herself. A breach has opened that is allowing demons to invade, and Vesper sets off to close it, accompanied by a goat named The Kid and a couple sharing the name Duet who seek to protect Vesper on her quest. If you can’t tell, this is risk-taking fantasy that rewards your attention, building a strange landscape and populating it with characters who subvert the archetypes their deceptively simple titles describe.

This novella marks Emma Newman’s return to fantasy in the wake of twoconsecutive best-of-the-year level works of science fiction (though in a sense, she never really left). Brother’s Ruin is set in an alternate 1850 in which the British Empire is ascendant partly due to the efforts of the Royal Society for the Esoteric Arts. In this gaslamp universe, young men who demonstrate strong magical talents are “bought” from their families for huge sums. It’s 1850, so naturally they don’t consider women as acolytes—but in the Gunn family, son Benjamin is a minor talent, while his sister Charlotte is extremely powerful. And so, to secure her family’s fortunes, she conspires to make Ben seem powerful. Charlotte is more than willing to break the rules of the time—which comes in handy when she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens not just her own family, but all of London.

In her follow-up to the Nebula Award-nominated Borderline, Baker brings us up to date on what happened to Millie—a former film student-turned-member of the Arcadia Project, a secret organization that serves as a liaison between the human and fairy realms—following the disastrous climax of the last book. In the wake of tragedy, Millie has left Arcadia behind. But when she and her old boss, Cheryl, visit the site where Millie’s former partner lost his life, they meet what seems to be his ghost—something Caryl says should be impossible, because ghosts don’t exist. What follows is another intriguing, trope-twisting mystery exploring the hidden history of human-fae interaction. But more than that, it’s another opportunity to spend time with Millie, whose struggles with borderline personality disorder are just one part of what makes her one of the most complex, engaging, occasionally frustrating protagonists urban fantasy has to offer.

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SF/F releases.

Fans of Schwab’s Shades of Magic series have been enduring an agonizing for the final book ever since A Gathering of Shadows revealed who the real villain was, and what they wanted—and then, you know, ended. A Conjuring of Light will bring to a close this part of Schwab’s transporting tale of parallel Londons—non-magical Grey London, magical Red London, magic-challenged White London, and doomed, magic-poisoned Black London—and the gifted magicians (not all of them good) who can travel between them. Fans have been pining for resolution of the relationship between hardscrabble thief Delilah Bard and Kell, the last traveler of Red London. If the first two installments are any indication, Schwab will take the story in directions no one is anticipating.

A woman named Zan wakes up in a sick bay minus most of her memories. She is greeted by a woman named Jayd, daughter to the lord of the Katazyrna, who says they are sisters, and that Zan is the only one who can help her people. From this intriguing beginning, Hurley throws us furiously into a universe where women fight and die for and aboard living worldships, organisms populated by maintained by their solely female populations, who give birth to everything needed to keep the ships healthy: children, monsters, even fleshy mechanical parts. But the Katazyrna is a dying world, and the coveted worldship Mokshi may hold the secret that will save it. Before Zan can get her bearings, Katazyrna is ambushed, and Zan and Jayd are thrust into dangerous new roles and a fight for their lives in a landscape that’s constantly shifting underneath them—and the reader. This is space opera like you’ve never seem it—angry, feminist, furiously inventive, and not a little frightening.

Harrison thrills long-time readers of The Hollows with a prequel set 40 years before the start of Rachel Morgan’s adventures to depict the Turn: the moment when a genetically-altered tomato unleashed a plague that killed a billion humans and forced the magical Inderlander races out into the open. Geneticist Trisk Cambri, an elf, takes a job as an industrial spy, helping to develop the new vegetable that might change the world. Her rival Trent “Kal” Kalamack sabotages the project—and inadvertently unleashes the plague. The magical creatures are suddenly threatened with exposure, the only beings notably unaffected by the plagues,. They’re left to try to save humanity without revealing their true nature. This page-turner is more than just backstory, though—it’s a compelling thriller and a welcome return to a beloved urban fantasy setting

A master of fantasy returns with a new unicorn and a new story, set in the rural farmland of Calabria. Frozen by a past tragedy, Claudio lives a simple life with a few animals, writing poetry and barely surviving. He is astonished when into his life appears a unicorn, forcing him to remember the true freedom that all living things have lost in modern times. The unicorn attracts hordes of reporters and tourists, as well as animal rights activists and those who intend the creature harm. Claudio stoutly protects her, and when he helps her bear her foal, Claudio sees his own life returning to him, the birth of new possibilities. Anyone who loved The Last Unicorn knows the power of a Peter S. Beagle story.

Eames slams The Wild Bunch into a fantasy universe that’s equal parts grit, broadswords, fast-paced action, and humor humor. Clay Cooper and his band of mercenaries, once the most feared and successful hired hands in the realm, have gone to seed. Old, drunk and growing soft around the middle, they’re a shadow of their former selves. But when an old friend begs Clay for helping saving his daughter, trapped in a besieged city about to be swarmed by a bloodthirsty enemy, Clay can’t say no. He’s getting the band back together, whether they’re ready or not.

This bind-up of two previously publish novels provides another chance to explore the early work of one of the most interesting cross-genre writers to hit the scene in the last five years. In this duology, she throws creative caution to the wind, spinning out a story that is exuberant in its love for just about every fantastical idea possible—and somehow pulls it all together into a charming, surprising coming-of-age story. Ananna is a young pirate. Naji is the young assassin sent to kill her. When Ananna saves him instead, a curse is invoked that compels him to protect Ananna, and to feel pain when she is in danger. The two set off through a world populated by pirates, blood magic, and talking sharks to find out how to break the spell. Naturally, it involves completing three impossible tasks and experiencing true love’s first kiss. This is a charming all-ages story, and a herald of great things to come from their talented author.

The writer behind the florid fantasy saga Kushiel’s Dart seems a natural fit for a richly reimagined interpretation of one of Shakespeare’s most difficult works. Carey’s skillful deconstruction of The Tempest offers up backstory for the events of the Bard’s tale, one that upends common interpretations of the text while still playing by the rules, and never contradicting the source material. We find Miranda living on a secluded island with her father, Prospero, and the island’s only native inhabitant, Caliban, the offspring of a spiteful witch. As Miranda and Caliban grow up, they fall in love—something her father cannot tolerate, especially since his daughter factors into his magical plans. If you’ve read the play, the way Carey weaves this expanded narrative into the story you know is transporting. If you haven’t, well, there’s no better time—but you’ll enjoy the intricate plot and well-drawn characters anyway.

Reynolds asks a question not often answered in sci-fi: what comes after the empire? Set in a distant future that has seen great galactic civilizations rise—and fall—Revenger tells the story of Captain Rackamore and his crew of grave-robbers-cum-salvage artists. They locate forgotten planets, ancient dead worlds sealed within layers of security, crack them open, and search for lost technology and resources others will pay handsomely for. Rackamore and crew try to do the job with a dash of ethics, a novel notion in this wild universe. His two newest crew members—sisters who have turned stowaway in a quest for more exciting livesand to save their family from bankruptcy—are caught up in an adventure far more dangerous than they could have expected. Ancient weapons, dead civilizations, and revenge fuel this sci-fi twist on a Robert Louis Stevenson adventure, delivering Reynolds’ most accessible book yet.

Kadrey’s followup to The Everything Box reunites us with master thief Coop, a somewhat involuntary member of the Department of Peculiar Science (DOPS). A straightforward heist—DOPS and Coop are tasked with stealing a mummy from a local museum because “we’d like to have it instead of them”—is complicated when the team accidentally revives the ancient slumbering creature, Harkhuf, and his dark magic. The mummy immediately sets off to revive his queen (and, incidentally, an entire army), and Coop and the rest of DOPS can avert the apocalypse. Again. It’s a darkly comic adventure in the grand tradition of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens.

Brodsky returns to the world of last year’s The Immortals, where gods of legend continue to exist in the modern day, but can claim little of their former power of influence. The goddess Artemis lives under the guise of Selene DiSilva, a weary vigilante fighting to protect the women of Manhattan. She is drawn into an investigation that’s very personal: members of her own family—gods themselves, in other words—are being hunted by killers capable of wielding holy weapons against them. She must reach out to her estranged siblings in order to save them from this mysterious cult and its doomsday goals. Selene’s powers as a legit goddess make her the perfect investigator—but this case might be too much even for an immortal to handle.

Mastai’s debut hinges on a brilliant twist to time travel formula: a visitor to the past mucks about with history and trigers a dystopian future—which turns out to be the world we’re all living in today (or, more accurately, the slightly less dystopian world we left behind in 2016). Tom Barren grew up in a world modeled on the 1950s utopian vision of the future—jetpacks, flying cars, endless clean energy. He time travels back to 1965 to witness the invention of that boundless energy source—and his presence causes the experiment to fail. Leaping forward, he finds himself in our present, and is suitably horrified at our backwards ways and feeble technology. He sets about trying to prove his story to a woman he promptly falls in love with, causing him to question whether he really wants to set things right. Mastai, a debut novelist but an accomplished screenwriter, crafts a cinematic narrative that lives up to that brilliant setup.

Combining Casablanca, Cabaret, and John le Carré, Donnelly’s intoxicating debut whisks us away to Amberlough, a seductive, permissive enclave in a setting not exactly unlike 1920s Europe. The city is targeted by a conservative, nationalist One-State Party, which seeks to unite all nations into an orderly empire. Cyril DePaul is a shattered intelligence agent forced reluctantly back into the field—where his spectacular failure puts him at the mercy of blackmail by the OSP. But everyone in this story is a double-agent of sorts; no one is precisely who they seem, and their complex relationships and cover stories weave together into an complex web of intrigue. As the OSP tightens its grip, every character is forced to make hard choices, even as their freedoms wither around them. It’s dark, powerful, and affecting stuff, destined to be a book remembered—truly a book for our times.

Henry Kyllo is a Runner. Every night, he is chased by Hunters with guns, the chase part of a secret tradition, a hidden world of ritual and myth. When Henry is hit, he goes to the hospital, but he doesn’t let go of his bullets—because he believes that when he achieves full-body lead content, he will “ascend.” Rumor is that no Runner has successfully ascended—but this isn’t exactly true. And Henry isn’t as prepared to get what he wants as he thinks he is. With a breathless pace that mimics the hunts the story hinges upon, and a compelling character in Henry, single-minded in pursuit of mysterious goals, this grim thriller crackles with tension and intrigue from the first page to the last.

James’ debut begins with an irresistible premise: in an alternate England, those with magical powers (known ironically as “Equals”) dominate as the aristocracy; those without magic must by law spend a 10 years as slaves to the Equals—the catch being that they get to choose when they will serve. Serve when you are young and enjoy years afterward without worry; serve when you are old, and risk dying a slave. The story focuses on non-magical Luke Hadley and family, who choose to go into their slave period together. Luke winds up in the slave settlement Millmoor, where he becomes involved in a secret group working to make the lives of the downtrodden better, while the rest of his family must serve on the estate of the most powerful family in England, becoming involved in the personal and political dramas of firsts among Equals. James’ world-building will absorb you in no time, as will the clever hints at a wider world waiting to be explored.

In the post-Civil War 19th century, a group of performers, con artists, and criminals travel as part of the Medicine Show led by disgraced surgeon Dr. Alexander Potter. They entertain, whore, and steal, but their main grift is selling Chock-a-saw Sagwa Tonic, a patent medicine supposedly guaranteed to cure whatever ails you—in other words, snake oil. But true alchemy is involved, practiced by a desperate man who is quickly running out of time, and Sagwa Tonic sometimes affects people in unusual, horrifying ways—leading to the revenge plans of Josiah McDaniel, a drunk for whom Sagwa has been a fate worse than death. You’ll feel slightly dirty after spending time with some of these characters, but you’ll never forget them—or this gritty, down-and-dirty debut.

We’d follow Miriam Black and her expletive-laden attitude just about anywhere. Wendig’s long-awaited fourth book in the series comes just in time to thaw us out after winter, and finds Miriam trying to see the bright side of her ability to touch someone and know without question how they’ll die. She goes looking for a psychic who can help her deal with the curse—and instead finds a group of “domestic terrorists” and her biggest vision of death yet. But is Miriam is starting to like her visions?

Beaulieu’s second novel in the Song of Shattered Sands finds heroine Çeda serving as a Blade Maiden for the hated kings of Sharakhai. Bonded to the asirim, she feels their pain and hunger for freedom after centuries of enslavement, and they hope she is the one who will be their savior. The Kings, however, are regrouping after their defeat by the Moonless Host, and their revenge upon the city is bloody and cruel. As Çeda is pulled deeper into the rebel’s cause, she learns a secret that could be the key to defeating the Kings—but only if she can survive long enough to understand it. In the shifting web of relationships and power in Sharakhai, nothing is certain for long—including her control over the asirim she is bonded to.

If you’re someone who watched Mad Max: Fury Road and wondered what the rest of the world might be like after the fall, Sparks’ debut offers up a desert future where the landscape is littered with ancient war machines and the detritus of a long-gone age. Orphan teens Star and Nene, who hide a terrible secret, travel with a caravan along the Sand Road until they witness a satellite crashing to Earth, setting off a chain of events that sees the sisters kidnapped by an ancient supersoldier—just as one of the deadliest and most intelligent of the old war machines awakens in the dry, mapless desert. It is Lotus Blue—a machine that sees no future for humanity at all. Filled with effortless worldbuilding that will have you shaking the sand out of your shoes after each chapter, this post-apocalyptic thrill ride is not to be missed.

Working from the original Norse legends, Gaiman applies his novelist talents to craft the old myths into a cohesive narrative in which the gods emerge as characters with motivations and flaws, telling us the story of Odin, father of the gods, and his sons Thor and Loki from the beginning, but not quite like we’ve experienced it before, from how Asgard was built to how Thor came into possession of his famous hammer. Gaiman is true to the apocalyptic tone of the old myths, stories that cast the world as a place of struggle and violence, where dying in battle was probably your best option. If you’ve read American Gods, you know Gaiman has a gift for making old stories not just new, but unmistakably his own.

Bridging the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, Wendig closes out his own trilogy of books set in the galaxy far, far away. An entity as huge and powerful as the Empire can’t be destroyed simply by blowing up a single superweapon and assassinating its Sith leaders. The remnants of the Empire still control fleets and worlds, and Grand Admiral Rae Sloane, working with the treacherous Gallius Rax, engineer a devastating counterstrike against the fledgling Republic. Veteran rebel pilot Norra Wexley is drafted by Leia Organa to pursue the war criminals, and she is more than glad to do so because of a personal connection to the Empire’s bloody attack. It all comes down to the barren planet of Jakku, where a final confrontation between the Republic and the old Empire looms—and where Wexley hopes to have her revenge.

The sixth book in Britain’s beloved epic fantasy series finds Green Rider Karigan forced back into service, despite not having recovered from her previous travails. She is tasked with making contact with the legendary p’ehdrosian to renew an ancient alliance against the forces of the Second Empire, led by the necromancer Grandmother. Karigan once again heads out on a perilous journey, while back home in Sacoridia, King Zachary is abducted by an ice elemental working with Grandmother and the Second Empire, raising the stakes of her mission to heart-pounding levels. Each step northward brings new dangers as Britain continues to build upon a complex world where class and birthright are often as important as talent and power.

Set in an alternate 19th century China during the Boxer Rebellion era, Duncan’s latest describes a world where the titular Portal opens once every thousand years or so, bringing chaos and transformation to our world. It is set to open again, and the one man who might know what’s coming is the Firstborn, a soul reincarnated through the centuries, retaining his memories. But the Firstborn has been imprisoned by a repressive government, and as society becomes unstable, the political maneuvers of the wealthy and powerful—including the formidable Dowager Empress—combined with a vast, brainwashed army, give the story a complexity rooted in the real events and legends of the Boxers (who were, incidentally, rumored at the time to have magical powers).

Kiernan seeks to unsettle in this Lovecraftian novella thataks questions you might not want to be answered. A mysterious government agent known as the Signalman debarks from a train in Winslow, Arizona on a blazing hot day. Still reeling from a recent disastrous raid on an doomsday cult operating on the shores of the Salton Sea, he arrives at a prearranged meeting with a mysterious woman who seems to have a different relationship with time than your average Joe. This woman has some very bad news foe the Signalman: something is awakening in the depths of space, beyond Pluto. The strange cult was only the beginning. Something incomprehensible that is coming. Kiernan is a master of unsettling short-form fiction, and her latest is a diamond-tipped needle of existential dread.

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SF/F releases.

Older closes out his fantastic Bone Street Rumba trilogy with a bang. Half-dead couple Carlos and Sasha get pulled into the growing rebellion against the Council of theDead, which is supposed to mediate disputes between the occult residents of New York—but there’s growing evidence its true purpose is much less benign. Older has crafted a complex world of shifting loyalties and explosive secrets, and everything comes home to roost as Carlos and Sasha chase down magical books that might be the key to the conflict—and eventually, they must take the fight to the highest (or is that lowest) levels. It all spins towards a final confrontation in a world that perfectly combines the quirky realness of Brooklyn and a fog of the supernatural. Can’t we have a few more of these? Please?

With a punchy, episodic style, this story about a NYPD Detective who joins a Vatican-based team of demon-hunters after they help her save her brother from possession is brisk and hugely entertaining. The ragtag team consists of Detective Sal Brooks, tortured priest Father Menchu, warrior Grace, hacker Liam, and slightly magical archivist Asanti. These form a group of distinct and distinctly enjoyable personalities who track down the magical books demons use to create portals into our world—and, yes, burn them. With its beginnings as a weekly serial story with an accompanying audio podcast, its breakneck pace never feels rushed, and its balance between the horrifyingly demonic and the hilariously clever never falters.

Anyone sad that Goodkind’s Sword of Truth has ended will rejoice to see this book—the first installment of a new series centered on Nicci, once the deadly lieutenant of Emperor Jagang and now the deadliest of Richard Rahl and Kahlan’s allies. With Richard’s rule stabilizing, Nicci is free to have her own adventures, launching Goodkind’s standalone new series with a fast-paced story that sees Nicci teamed with prophet Nathan, a pairing that’s tough on Nicci but delightful for Goodkind’s devoted fans.

The third book of the Lightship Chronicles opens on a moment of peace: Peter Cochrane and his new wife Karina on their way to Sandosa, the newest member of the Union formed from the ashes of the old Empire. When they arrive onboard Cochrane’s newest command, The Defiant, however, the forces of Sandosa attack, attempting to assassinate both Peter and Karina. Cochrane responds with the devastating power the ship represents—but this is just the beginning of a breathless series of events that will bring Cochrane and his new wife to the assistance of his old lover Dobrina Kierkopf against the Butcher of Carinthia, Prince Arin. The politics and the firefights fly fast and furious, as Cochrane discovers hidden secrets about the Union’s powerful allies, the Earth Historians, and rockets towards a final confrontation with Arin that will determine the future of humanity. Bara continues to spin a complex and well-constructed military SF series that stands proudly alongside well-decorated examples of the subgenre.

Arden’s debut novel is an incredible achievement, fusing Russian folklore and history into a thoroughly modern fantasy exploring themes of belief, feminism, and magic. Vasilisa “Vasya” Petrovna is the beautiful daughter of a 13th century Russian noble. Her father, conflicted because he blames Vasya for the death of her mother, nonetheless seeks to protect her in the one way he believes he can: by marrying her into royalty. Vasya, however, prefers to commune with the spirits of wood, home, and water that lurk in the forests on her father’s estate—spirits who have protected the land for centuries. With the arrival of a new priest and Vasya’s new mother-in-law, who both see the spirits as demons to be destroyed, the villagers begin to reject the ancient beings just when the village needs them the most. It falls to Vasya to harness the power she holds within to save her family and her home. Arden’s lyrical prose serves a story that combines beauty and power into a tale that feels like a fairy tale of old—ideal for a cold winter night’s reading.

The third installment in The Invisible Library series finds Librarian-slash-spy Irene and her dragon apprentice Kai in a bad odor and on probation in the infinite inter-dimensional library that connects all the alternate universes. The timing is terrible, because rogue Librarian Alberich is back, fomenting disorder and disruption on the worlds he controls—as well as within the Library itself. Worse, Irene begins to suspect there’s a spy in her circle working against her. As in previous installments, Cogman’s worldbuilding across the various alternate universes never ceases to delight, providing a sense of verisimilitude that only increases as the plot slowly tightens and Alberich’s true intentions—nothing less than the destruction of the Library itself, no matter the consequences—become clear.

The sixth book in Aaronovitch’s delightful River of London urban fantasy series finds Peter Grant, England’s last Wizard and one of just two people authorized to practice magic in the kingdom, asked to investigate the overdose death of a young girl. Charged with establishing the innocence of Lady Cecelia Tyburn-Thames’ daughter in connection with the death, Grant finds evidence that the dead girl had been practicing magic illegally. This volume introduces a few “real world” wrinkles into Aaronovitch’s gritty and textured fantasy world: a ledger kept by legendary Victorian criminal Jonathan Wild, and Isaac Newton’s lost alchemy papers—as he builds a deadly mystery centered on the Marble Arch in London, once the sight of the Tyburn gallows, known as The Hanging Tree.

Williams authored one of the most influential epic fantasies of all time with the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. In The Heart of What Was Lost, he returns to the world of Osten Ard in spectacular style, picking up the story immediately in the wake of Ineluki the Storm King’s defeat in To Green Angel Tower. Ineluki’s loyal servants, the Norns, are on the run northward, pursued by Duke Isgrimnur and the mortal army he’s amassed for their final destruction. As the army moves northward, the desperate Norns use all of their magic in order to reach their mountain stronghold of Nakkiga, where a final confrontation is destined to settle the fate of Osten Ard for all time. Williams certainly hasn’t lost his touch for the epic, and this volume is but a herald of a new Osten Ard trilogy in the making—all of which is great news for fantasy fans.

Moore launches the epic fantasy series Tides of War with the breakneck story of battle-hardened mercenary Brogan McTyre, who returns home from war to find his wife and children have been carried off by the terrifying Grakhul, servants to the gods themselves. The Grakhul only take mortals they intend to sacrifice to appease the gods, and the tough McTyre is shaken to his core at the thought of losing his family. Gathering a rescue party, he risks not just his life but the fate of the entire world to rescue his family—because defying the Grakhul means defying the gods themselves. His actions have consequences all over the world, setting up a chain reaction that might result in the end of all things, as the gods seek to reassert the old order—at any price. Fans of Moore know the man can build a world like no other, and he doesn’t disappoint here, pitting a fearsome—but mortal—warrior against impossible odds.

A locked-room mystery nestled comfortably inside a big-idea sci-fi premise, Lafferty’s latest is a interstellar page-turner. Societal and climate collapse drives humanity to send 2,000 cryo-frozen people to a distant, Earth-like planet on a ship crewed by six criminals who volunteer to be cloned again and again as they shepherd their precious cargo to its final destination. Every time the crew is cloned, they maintain their collective memories. When they wake up at the beginning of the novel, however, their former bodies are dead—brutally murdered in various ways; the ship is in shambles (gravity is off, the controlling artificial intelligence is offline, and they’re off-course); and their memories (and all other records) have been erased. The six have to clean up the mess—but they also have to figure out who killed them and why, and how to survive within a paranoid pressure-cooker of a ship. Lafferty ramps this one up steadily, from the jarring first pages to the nail-biting conclusion.

Vaughn jumps from the Kitty Norville urban fantasy series to a smart, fun story centered on smart, fun Polly, a resident of Mars. Polly has her life planned out: she just knows she’s going to be a starship captain someday. When her mother thwarts her dreams of attending the astrodome in favor of sending her and her twin brother “dirtside” (that is, to old Earth) to attend the prestigious Galileo Academy, she’s angry and unhappy. When she doesn’t fit in or get along with the elitist students she meets,sensing something “off” about the place, her unhappiness worsens, even as her more level-headed brother settles in. As Polly comes to terms with her new friends and her new life, the sinister goings-on at the school come dangerously close to the surface, challenging Polly’s deep reserves of intelligence, bravery, and luck. In Polly, Vaughn has crafted a pitch-perfect young adult voice and a top-notch sci-fi action story, every bit the feminist answer to the so-called Robert Heinlein “juveniles” that inspired it..

Toner’s second book of the Amaranthine Spectrum is as deeply imagined, deliberately paced, and brain-breakingly opaque (in the best way) as the first, 2015’s The Promise of the Child. The epic plottings of immortals, post-human mutants, and wide variety of other sentient beings inhabiting the 147th century continue: Lycaste follows immortal Hugo Maneker on a dangerous quest he doesn’t understand, Aaron the Long Life furthers his plot to take over the Amaranthine Firmament, and Sotiris searches for his dead sister. While much remains a mystery, Toner’s confident style—and the forceful impact on the reader when pieces do fall into place—give the sequel a heft and power that goes beyond the plot twists. There’s a reason this trilogy has been compared to Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun.

The first in Dyer’s Titan’s Forest trilogy, Crossroads of Canopy tosses us high into a complex world, mythology, and society. The great forest is huge, with trees stretching hundreds of feet high and containing entire cities within their branches. The upper reaches, where the sun penetrates, are divided into 13 kingdoms, ruled by gods who are routinely reincarnated into human bodies. The city of Canopy spans this sunny, abundant layer of the forest, while life grows progressively worse for the pale denizens of the lower areas. Unar worships Audblayin, the goddess of birth and life, and expects to be promoted to be the goddesses’ bodyguard when she is reincarnated. When that doesn’t happen, her sense of self comes unmoored, and she embarks on a journey that takes her ever further below the treeline—and exposing her to uncomfortable truths about the very foundations of the society she has served her whole life. Lush and detailed, this is the ideal debut: a book that immediately makes you want to read the sequel.

Launching a new series within the Merchant Prince universe, Empire Games is nonetheless a standalone work that readers unfamiliar with the previous books will find perfectly accessible—and entertaining. Different timelines in alternate universes develop the ability to time travel and shift between dimensions—setting them up for a mind-bending interdimensional cold war that could go hot if cards aren’t played just right. In one, the Department of Homeland Security drafts Rita to follow in the footsteps of her mother Miriam, a woman who was able to walk between dimensions. In an alternate world, Miriam heads up the Ministry of Intertemporal Research and Intelligence—and knows the alternate-world Americans are coming, and prepares for wars both cold and hot as a result. With mother and daughter caught in the middle, great powers cross dimensional lines to bump up against each other in a complex story that spins on capital-B “Big Ideas.”

The great Terry Pratchett left the disc two years ago, but we still haven’t seen the last of his wondrous work. This volume collects more bits of the Discworld creator’s long-obscure “juvenilia,” following 2015’s The Dragons at Crumbling Castle, and Other Stories. Most of these 14 stories date from the 1960s and ’70s (when the author was a teenager), and were originally published in Pratchett’s hometown newspaper. Here, they are given new titles and slight editing (at least, according to the introduction from the posthumous Pratchett). Though familiar faces from his long-running series are absent, and the sense of humor is hardly as well-formed or sharp-edged as it would become in later decades, these silly stories of oddballs heading off on grand adventures will delight Sir Terry’s many fans.

For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SF/F releases.

Hugo winner Robert Charles Wilson offers up an intriguing twist on time travel, one in which alternate-universe “pasts” can be accessed—but only once. The moment a “passageway” to the past is opened, that alternate universe begins changing in unpredictable ways, and once closed, the passageway cannot be reopened. One such passageway has been opened to 19th century Ohio—but rather than remain a secret, it’s turned into an attraction. People travel back to see the quaint old ways, and natives pay to see a vague glimpse of their future. As the natives grow more sophisticated, though, the tourism dries up, and Jesse Cullum, who found work as a security guard in the city of the future and fell in love with a woman who hasn’t been born yet, is determined to follow her back to the future before the passageway is closed for good—even if it means exposing a lot of secrets the folks in charge don’t want to be revealed.

Hail Bristol, a former gunrunner and criminal revealed to be the heir to the throne of the tumultuous Indran Empire in the wake of the assassination of her mother and sisters, learns that heavy lies the head that wears the crown in this sequel to July’s Behind the Throne. Only in power a short time, her efforts to hold peace talks to stabilize the empire are violently disrupted, thrusting Bristol and her trusted bodyguards into a desperate gambit to save her life—and her empire. To succeed, Bristol must turn to the few allies she has at court, as well as old friends—and enemies—in the gunrunning world she left behind. Twists and turns are weighted against the fate of a vast empire as the empress deals with betrayal, a price on her head, and a universe intent on tearing itself apart. Two books in, this series has exemplified political plotting as compelling as the badass heroine at its center.

Koch returns to the ongoing saga of Katherine “Kitty” Katt-Martini with her 14th adventure, and it’s packed full of the fast-paced chaos her fans thrive on. Before we’re even a few chapters in, president and first lady Jeff and Kitty Katt-Martini are informed of a group of alien spacecraft making their way to Earth, Katt is lured into an explosive situation (literally), and the Mastermind is revealed to be back in business. With a mysterious new backer and some problematic cloning capabilities, the villain begins to sow serious chaos, even as Katt is informed the aliens are seeking asylum on Earth—because they’re fleeing something so terrifying, other terrifying things are running the other way. In short, it’s a typical day in Katt’s life—and another fun, fantastic story from Gini Koch.

The sixth Expanse book deepens the crisis facing humanity as it describes a civilization in free-fall. With the Belters’ Free Navy the only effective force in space, chaos reigns as the rebels’ black market military ships leave violence and destruction in their wake. The colony ships headed for the alien ring gates and the strange space beyond are completely unprotected; neither Earth nor Mars has the strength to mobilize a navy to defend them. In response to the escalating emergency, an uneasy alliance between Earth and Mars is formed, and James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are tasked with high-burning it to Medina Station at the center of the gate network. But even as this shaky alliance is revealed to be just another struggle for power, the alien presence on the other side of the gates comes into focus—and the Free Navy may be the least of humanity’s problems. This is a high-octane continuation of a series that has quickly become the biggest thing in science fiction.

Originally published in 1985, DAW is republishing Meluch’s remarkable military SF novel, and it’s not hard to see why—it’s as exciting and relevant today as it was 30 years ago. In a galaxy dominated by the totalitarian and oppressive Na’id Empire, a man called Alihahd—which means “he left” in the Na’id language—defies the empire and ferries rebel refugees to safety. An inveterate drunk, Alihahd is a man running from his own past and trying to atone. When his ship is attacked, he ensures the safety of his passengers and is rescued himself by a damaged pirate ship, which soon crashes on the legendary planet of Iry. As he seeks a way off planet, Alihahd’s backstory is slowly teased out, as is his connection to the ancient Earth city of Jerusalem, emblematic of the entirety of human civilization; it was the center of a desperate battle against the Na’id’s attempts to unify human civilization. Drawing comparisons to Frank Herbert’s Dune in its philosophical scope, Jerusalem Fire is the unexpected sci-fi masterpiece you’ve never read.

After the success of their first collaboration, Ringo and Correia once again merge their streams to expand Correia’s splashy Monster Hunter universe. After answering a post-death call from God himself to join MHI, Chad Oliver Gardenier has become one of the premier monster hunters on the planet. So it’s no surprise that he’s dispatched to New Orleans to help out MHI’s Hoodoo Squad—New Orleans in the 1980s is jam-packed with shadow demons, necromancers, and vampires, and the Hoodoo Squad is exhausted. Ringo and Correia work seamlessly together to deepen the Monster Hunter mythology while simultaneously offering up plenty of action, smart dialog, and, of course, big-ass monsters.

We can’t say much about this one because, like most things Star Wars these days, it is shrouded in secrecy until the release of the film on December 16. What we do know is that A) it was written by Alexander Freed, the author behind the thrilling Star Wars video game-turned-novel adaptation Battlefront: Twilight Company, which, like Rogue One, followed a bunch of below-the-line grunts on a mission behind enemy lines, and B) it’s sure to provide us with additional background and plot details that won’t make it into the film. Oh, and C) it’s available in an exclusive edition, available only at Barnes & Noble, featuring an eight-page photo insert featuring images from the movie.

If you’re eagerly anticipating the release of Rogue One, then you’re also the perfect audience for this fantastic reference guide. Pairing visuals and stills taken directly from the film with a comprehensive collection of character profiles, vehicle cross-sections, and location layouts, Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide will deepen your enjoyment of what will likely be the must-see movie of the holiday season. The ability to be the smartest fan in the theater should be irresistible to any true Star Wars fanatic, but the book comes with the added bonus of being irresistible nerd coffee-table decor, sure to inspire excited discussions of the film and the incredible art collected inside.

Tregillis winds down his trilogy about a revolution by the clockwork automata that serve humanity in a deeply imagined alternate history setting in which the Dutch are the world’s greatest superpower and mankind has enslaved a race of artificial beings created in his own image. Daniel (neé Jax) is one of these golems, known as Clakkers; he’s managed to escape the control of the powerful spells that hold his people in check, and has spent the last two books coming to terms with his newfound self-determination and sparking a rebellion among others of his kind—even if it means taking control of them himself. This is a satisfyingly morally ambiguous conclusion to a challenging trilogy, in which there are no easy answers and no happy endings for anyone.

Acclaimed author Laura Bickle returns to the weird western setting of her Wildlands series for a standalone novel featuring Petra Dee, alchemist and recent arrival in the remote town of Temperance, Wyoming, who believes she is an old hand at dealing with supernatural threats—until she runs up against a new one even she can’t explain. Someone or something is killing wolves out in the snowy forest and leaving their skins behind. Clues point the the reemergence of a creature from ancient legend, but Petra’s investigations are hampered by local lawman Owen Rutherford, who believes Petra’s partner Gabriel might be the culprit in an unsolved murder. The Wildlands novels have earned acclaim for their propulsive plotting, compelling characters, and compassionate handling of Native American traditions and lore, and this one—the first to debut in print after several ebook volumes—may be the best yet.

Bear concludes his brainy military SF series War Dogs with an adventure that opens with Skyrine Michael Venn and his fellow soldiers marooned beneath the crust of Titan. After humanity was drafted into a war against the Antagonists by the Gurus, bribed by the advanced technology they offered, Venn has been on a journey to discover the Gurus’ true intentions. Haunted by the voices of the dead, Venn and his comrades find themselves attacked on all sides—and forced into an alliance with the Antags themselves—as they try to discover the truth. Across three books, Bear has crafted Venn into a nuanced character without ever sacrificing his soldier’s nature. The onslaught of revelations in this gripping final entry offer a resoundingly satisfying conclusion, paying off all the bets Bear made in the earlier books, and then some.

Greenberg returns to the genre-breaking setting of her first graphic novel, The Encyclopedia of Early Earth, with a mesmerizing work with a fiery feminist heart. Set in the kingdom of Migdal Bavel on Early Earth (with its three moons and myths come to life), the story is anchored by Cherry, married to the wicked Jerome but in love with her maid, Hero. Jerome makes a bet with his friend Manfred: if Manfred can seduce Cherry in 100 days, he gets Jerome’s castle—and Cherry. Set against this loathsome misogyny is not just Cherry herself, but Hero, a member of the League of Secret Story Tellers. They conspire to distract Manfred with stories each night, holding him off with wit and imagination—and incredibly absorbing tales. The Arabian Nights structure provides surprises on every page, while the theme of women dodging violence and oppression with nothing but their wits grounds the work in powerful truth.